Slain Singer Christina Grimmie's Funeral Set for Later This Week

Services for the slain singer are to take place in her hometown in N.J.

ByABC News
June 15, 2016, 11:27 AM

— -- Christina Grimmie's funeral is set for later this week in New Jersey.

A viewing is scheduled for Friday in Medford, New Jersey, near the 22-year-old's hometown, followed by a service that night, her representative told ABC News today.

A vigil for Christina Grimmie — who was shot and killed Friday in Orlando, Florida, after giving a performance — took place earlier this week, also in New Jersey, at her hometown of Evesham Township, where her brother, Marcus Grimmie, spoke about his sister and the senseless killing.

"Christina was awesome ... She loved singing, she loved the Lord, and she loved me, and she was just my baby sister," he told hundreds of people who gathered to pay their respects.

PHOTO:Marcus Grimmie, reaches toward the sky as he talks about his sister Christina Grimmie, June 13, 2016, in Evesham Township, N.J.
Marcus Grimmie, reaches toward the sky as he talks about his sister Christina Grimmie, June 13, 2016, in Evesham Township, N.J.

Christina Grimmie was featured on the hit singing competition "The Voice."

The outpouring of love for the young star has been immense. Marcus Grimmie wrote on Facebook that his sister's mentor on the show, Adam Levine, offered to pay for her funeral expenses, and friends like Selena Gomez and Charlie Puth paid tribute to Christina Grimmie during recent shows.

A GoFundMe page was started in her honor by her manager, Brian Teefey, and more than $160,000 has been raised to help her family.

Grimmie’s career seemed on the cusp of taking off. It started with self-recorded YouTube videos posted online of Pop hit covers. Her YouTube channel amassed more than a 100 million views.

For many aspiring artists trying to become famous there is a fine line between seeming accessible to fans and staying safe.

Kris Herzog, the owner of The Bodyguard Group of Beverly Hills, a personal security service based in Los Angeles says most performers don’t take their safety seriously enough.

“Having a big stupid looking body guard standing next to you prevents nothing,” he told ABC News "Nightline." “All he’s going to do is react after you’ve been shot and murdered as was the case with Christina.”

Herzog’s company which he says only hires former U.S. service veterans and former police uses sophisticated techniques to protect their clients based the secret service technique called the protective bubble.

“The protective bubble has been used by the U.S. Secret Service since President Ronald Reagan was shot. The protective bubble says that no one that you have not screened for a weapon, gets close enough to your client to draw a weapon and shoot and murder your client whether the weapon is a knife, a bomb, or a fire arm.”

Using these kinds of security techniques, deployed by well-trained personel, Herzog says overall risk can be minimized but never completely eliminated.

“The fact of the matter is they made the same mistake that most these people make,” he said. “If you place the protectee in front of a large unscreened crowd, with people not at a navy seal police officer federal protection level of training and expertise, such as all of our members must have, you’re placing your client at great jeopardy.”

ABC News' Ben Newman contributed to this report