On Friday, June 10, in Orlando, Florida, 22-year-old "The Voice" finalist and YouTuber Christina Grimmie was fatally shot at a meet and greet after her concert with the band, Before You Exit. The shooter fired several shots at Grimmie. Her brother jumped to stop the shooter, who turned the gun on himself. Thanks to his actions, no bystanders were injured. She was transported to the hospital in critical condition and passed on only a few hours later.
Within the first 24 hours, love poured in from around the world from her fans, others who knew of her and her fellow performers and YouTubers. #RIPChristinaGrimmie and #RIPGrimmie were trending on Twitter throughout the day on June 11, with various other hashtags popping in from her fans. Searching Christina Grimmie on YouTube brings up many tributes on the website of people covering her songs, making fan videos and remember the good she brought into the world. However, that is not the only discussion going around about this.
Anytime there is a tragic shooting in the United States, gun control, and public safety automatically become a topic of choice. This shooting is no different. However, the events of June 10 come less than two weeks away from VidCon, a convention in Anaheim, Calif., dedicated to the YouTube and Vine community. At this convention, creators from both platforms as well as their fans attend panels, parties and meet and greets over a three-day period. As Grimmie was shot at a meet and greet event, the immediate discussion jumped to "How do we prevent this at VidCon and other events?"
It was always a matter of “when” and not “if” we’d lose a YouTuber at a fan event. Things are going to change now. https://t.co/RVgpksARLn
— TomSka (@thetomska) June 11, 2016
Thomas "TomSka" Ridgewell was one of the first YouTubers to mention this, bringing up the fear that all YouTubers had about a situation like this. In his video reporting about the entire situation, Philip DeFranco mentions the same fear, as well as precautions he has taken in the past at events like VidCon. "This has always been a possibility. It's happened before people became famous on the Internet. Once you open the door to people, you provide access; it is a possibility."
Many fans and creators alike were curious to see what steps would be taken to make the event safer. To help bite some of these fears in the butt, creator of VidCon and one-half of the VlogBrothers, Hank Green, tweeted from both his personal twitter and the official VidCon Twitter that he was amping up security even more than he already was from last year.
My first email was to our security team at VidCon. We had already increased security plans from last year but are reviewing now.
— Hank Green (@hankgreen) June 11, 2016
Hank himself recently went on tour with his band, Hank Green and the Perfect Strangers, and he reflected on that time as well as the safety of the venues he performed at. It's comforting to know that he has dealt with the situation that led to Grimmie's death and can work with a well-trained team to at least attempt to prevent another incident. In the official police report from the Orlando Police Department, the security at the venue itself was just unarmed security officers. Most smaller venues operate in the same fashion, as it is difficult to have everyone go through metal detectors and a pat-down for smaller shows.
@RJSalmond @kayleyhyde I just played 12 500 person shows and none had armed security or metal detectors. Some of them had no security at all.
— Hank Green (@hankgreen) June 11, 2016
At the end of the day, only time will tell what changes will be made in the wake of these tragic events. All that can be done is to hope these changes prevent another young, talented soul from being taken too soon. My thoughts and prayers are with Christina's family at this time. If you want to help, donations for the family are being accepted through an official GoFundMe started by Christina's manager.
