After a gunman opened fire on Las Vegas crowds attending the country music Route 91 Harvest Music Festival, country music star Jason Aldean, who was performing on stage at the time of the shooting, took to Instagram to confirm that he and his crew are safe after a night that was "beyond horrific". A "lone shooter" killer fired into the throngs of concertgoers at 10pm on Sunday night from an upper floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel, killing more than 50 people and injuring over 400.
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Jason Aldean, seen here performing during the concert on Sunday night, wrote that he was 'heartbroken' after the attack Photo: Getty Images
The star wrote: "I still don't know what to say but wanted to let everyone know that me and my crew are safe. My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone involved tonight. It hurts my heart that this would happen to anyone who was just coming out to enjoy what should have been a fun night."
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Sheriff of Clark County Joe Lombardo has confirmed that the suspect was killed. In a press conference, he said: "At approximately 10:08pm we had calls coming of multiple shots being fired from the Mandalay Bay hotel towards the Route 91 concert, on the East side of Las Vegas Boulevard. There was a shooter on 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay. Officers engaged the suspect at that location. He is dead. He has been identified. He is a local resident. I will not release his name at this time."
Terrified concertgoers scrambled for safety during the attack Photo: Getty Images
He continued: "We do not know what his belief system was at this time. We believe he is the sole aggressor at this point and the scene is static… Right now we believe it is sole actor, a lone wolf type actor and we have the place under control."
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Singer Jake Owen, who had performed just before Jason Aldean, also tweeted his shocked reaction. "Praying for everyone here in Vegas. I witnessed the most unimaginable event tonight. We are okay. Others arent. Please pray, he wrote. "Gun shots were ringing off of the stage rigging and road cases. No one knew where to go..thank you LVPD and responders for keeping us safe."
Jake Owen recounted the incident that happened moment after taking the stage Photo: FilmMagic
The dad-of-one recounted the incident hours after taking the stage. “All of a sudden, you heard what sounded – like, ‘Was that gunfire?’ – and it got faster and faster, almost like it was an automatic rifle. You could hear it ringing off the rafters off the top of the stage," he told NBC's Today. "That’s when you saw people fleeing. At that point, everyone onstage just started running everywhere possible. At one point, I was crouched down behind a cop car with about 20 other people, that were people who had just come to the show."
Some of Las Vegas' most iconic performers have spoken out on social media, sending prayers and condolences to the victims. Celine Dion, who is scheduled to continue her residency at Caesar's Palace on Tuesday, was among the stars sending her prayers, as was Mariah Carey, who is set to kick off her Christmas show run at Caesar's in December.
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