The 22 year old singer had just finished opening up for the band Before You Exit and was signing autographs, mingling with fans at The Plaza Live in Orlando, FL Friday night.
It was then that an unknown man armed with 2 guns approached her and fired off 6-7 shots. Christina’s brother, Mark wrestled with the man for the gun, before the man shot himself. Another person was injured by the shots, but is expected to make it. Christina’s career was just taking off!
A fan present at the signing describes the incident, via People Magazine:
“It was a really laid-back vibe in there. They had already finished performing, and she was standing by this table and signing autographs and posing for pictures. You see it all the time, and it was just a good vibe, says 21 year old Karla Abel.
“I didn’t see the guy come up to her. My back was to her at that moment. But suddenly there was this sound. I at first thought it was some sort of firecracker, or even something with the microphones inside. It took me a minute to figure out what it was. I think there were like six or seven shots. At least that’s what it sounded like to me. I didn’t count them,” says Abel.
“I see these two guys who are wrestling or something,” she says. “It looked like a fight. And then I heard another shot, and I did see some blood then…”
The two guys wrestling were Christina’s brother Mark and the gunman. The gunman shot himself as Mark tried to rip the gun from his hands.
While auditioning for the singing competition called The Voice, Christina said her inspiration to chase her dreams was her mother, who had battled breast cancer three times. She said she never thought her mother would get to see her onstage and that’s what made her try out for the competition. My condolences to her mother and family during this time.
Watch Christina’s big break as she appeared on The Voice singing Miley Cyrus’s “Wrecking Ball” last year.