It’s been three years since a gunman opened fire at the Route 91 Harvest festival in as Vegas, killing 61 people and injuring almost 900 more.
And on Thursday, country music star Jason Aldean, who was on stage at the time the shooting started, marked the anniversary with an Instagram post in which he remembered those whose lives were changed forever, including his own.
‘Hard to believe it’s been 3 years since Route 91,’ the 43-year-old wrote next to a photo of a makeshift memorial at the festival site from 2017.
Never forget: Country music star Jason Aldean, 43, marked the third anniversary of the Route 91 Harvest festival mass shooting in Las Vegas on Thursday with a touching Instagram post
Terrible night: ‘October 1st will always be a day for us that is extremely hard to relive,’ explained the country music star, pictured on stage in 2017 just before the shooting started
Aldean went on: ‘That night was probably the worst night of our lives and not a day goes by that we don’t think about the people who lost their lives and the families who have forever been affected by it.’
He added: ‘October 1st will always be a day for us that is extremely hard to relive,’ he added. ‘To everyone in the Route 91 family, we love u guys and we couldn’t have gotten through it without you. #CountryStrong #Route91family #VegasStrong.’
The Rearview Mirror hitmaker’s wife Brittany, who was pregnant at the time, was with him at Route 91.
And in her own Instagram post on Thursday, she described what happened that fateful October 1 night as ‘a nightmare’.
Remembering: The Rearview Mirror hitmaker’s wife Brittany was with him at Route 91 and described what happened as ‘a nightmare’ in her own tribute on Thursday
Traumatic time: Brittany, 33, wrote: ‘My husband was prepping like any other day to entertain thousands of fans…. little did we know our lives would change forever’
Changed forever: The couple, who married in 2015 and have two children together, said that ‘not a day goes by that we don’t think about the people who lost their lives and the families who have forever been affected by it’
She recalled: ‘I was 8 months pregnant (had Memphis 2 months to the day from the shooting) and my husband was prepping like any other day to entertain thousands of fans. I used to live in Vegas so I had a bunch of friends at the show… little did we know our lives would change forever.’
Brittany, 33, shared: ‘The sound, the chaos, the overwhelming sadness and heartache… it’s something that never leaves you. They call us the ‘Route 91 Family’ in my opinion because we are forever bonded. An experience that thankfully only certain people know.’
‘Our hearts still break for the families who lost a loved one. We are thinking of each and every one of you today, and everyday… And to the men and women who ran towards the bullets to protect all of us… WE ARE FOREVER GRATEFUL.’
Moments from tragedy: Aldean was on stage performing his song When She Says Baby to the crowd of 22,000 people when the first shots rang out
Traumatized: Brittany shared: ‘The sound, the chaos, the overwhelming sadness and heartache… it’s something that never leaves you’
Victims: By the time the shooting stopped, 58 people were dead. The shooter Stephen Paddock was found deceased in a hotel room at the Mandalay Bay Hotel. Two of those shot that night would subsequently succumb to their injuries, one in 2019 and one in 2020
Aldean was on stage performing his song When She Says Baby to the crowd of 22,000 people when the first shots rang out.
By the time the shooting stopped, 58 people were dead.
The shooter Stephen Paddock was found deceased in a hotel room at the Mandalay Bay Hotel.
Two of those shot that night would subsequently succumb to their injuries, one in 2019 and one in 2020.
It remains the deadliest mass shooting by a lone gunman in the history of the United States.
heartfelt: ‘Our hearts still break for the families who lost a loved one…. And to the men and women who ran towards the bullets to protect all of us… WE ARE FOREVER GRATEFUL’