News broke earlier today that 5 time NBA champion Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash near Calabasas. His private helicopter seems to have come into trouble mid flight and crashed.
Video of the wreckage shows the helicopter in flames. Five other people are reported dead as well, due to this wreckage, his wife is not named as one of them. ABC News initially reported his daughters were on board with him an retracted the news soon thereafter.
However, TMZ confirmed at 12:18p that Kobe's daughter Gianna Maria Onore -- aka GiGi -- was also on board the helicopter and died in the crash ... reps for Kobe tell TMZ Sports. She was 13.
His tendency to fly in a helicopter to commute, in attempt to avoid the typical Los Angeles traffic, was so common that some would call the chopper "Kobe 1."
Just hours before the news broke, Kobe tweeted his respects to Lebron James for passing his scoring records.
Los Angeles Sheriff's department shared pictures of the crash and soon thereafter confirmed none of the 5 in the chopper had survived the crash.
As expected, many from the NBA have turned to Twitter to express their remorse and disbelief of the news.
Multiple celebrities also turned to Twitter to share their condolences and disbelief with the tragic news.