Singer's horrific end mirrors famous lives cut short

ByBrandon de Hoyos KTRK logo
Saturday, June 11, 2016
Stars gunned down
Rebecca Schaeffer (from left), Selena Quintanilla and now Christina Grimmie share a tragic legacy
AP Photos

ORLANDO, FL (KTRK) -- Christina Grimmie's tragic end brings echoes of other celebrities whose lives were cut short at the hands of a shooter.

Fans were getting autographs and posing for photos with the YouTube sensation and 'The Voice' star when Grimmie was gunned down at an Orlando concert venue Friday night.

VIDEO: Christina Grimmie, YouTube and reality competitor, shot and killed at Orlando concert

Christina Grimmie, a star on YouTube and a contestant on 'The Voice,' was shot at a concert in Orlando, according to police.

Orlando Police Chief John Mina says Grimmie's brother struggled with the gunman who eventually shot and killed himself in an apparent suicide.

Mina says the shooter traveled from another city to confront the 22-year-old singer, not unlike the man who would eventually kill 'My Sister Sam' star Rebecca Schaeffer in 1989.

Schaeffer was only 21 years old when Robert Bardo was able to find her apartment using information attained by a private investigator. He would soon travel from his parent's home in Tucson, Arizona to meet the starlet, the Eugene Register-Guard reported.

Bardo visited her apartment, knocking on the door. When Schaeffer answered, Bardo told the actress he was a fan and was given an autograph before she closed the door, writes Katherine Ramsland in "Stalkers: The Psychological Terrorist."

An hour later, Bardo summoned Schaeffer to the door again, only this time he fired one round of ammunition, killing her.

Schaeffer's stunning death prompted the passage of the nation's first anti-stalking law in California.

Equally as stunning was the shooting death of Mexican-American performer Selena Quintanilla, who was shot and killed in 1995 by Yolanda Saldivar.

Saldivar served as president of Selena's fan club in San Antonio, and went on to become a trusted member of the singer's entourage. Saldivar also managed two fashion boutiques operated by the up and coming star and her family.

VIDEO: Vigil held in honor of Selena's 20th anniversary of her death

A vigil will be held tonight at the TBH Latino Cultural Arts Center from 8pm to 10pm

Yet when the Quintanilla family became suspicious after discovering more than $60,000 was missing from Selena's businesses, it set into motion the events which would lead to her untimely death.

On March 31, 1995, Selena was shot and killed by Saldivar at a Days Inn in Corpus Christie.

Three tragic cases, three young lives taken from their fans and the world all too soon.

PHOTOS: Many gathered to remember Selena

See also: Remembering Selena 21 years after her death

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