Jason Aldean & Wife Brittany Visit Las Vegas Shooting Victims, Lights on Strip Dimmed in Tribute

Gil Kaufman
·3 min read
Jason Aldean & Wife Brittany Visit Las Vegas Shooting Victims, Lights on Strip Dimmed in Tribute
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A week after a crazed gunman opened fire on the Route 91 Harvest Festival during Jason Aldean‘s headlining set, the country star and his wife, Brittany, flew back to Las Vegas to visit with some survivors of the attack that killed 58 and injured more than 500. “Feels surreal being back in Vegas today. Visiting some of the strongest people we have ever met. fighting the toughest battle of them all… for their lives,” Brittany Aldean wrote in an Instagram post that showed the couple with their arms around each other looking out toward the Mandalay Bay hotel, where the 64 year-old shooter filled a suite with guns and opened fire from the 32nd floor on 22,000 unsuspecting fans below.

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Feels surreal being back in Vegas today. Visiting some of the strongest people we have ever met… fighting the toughest battle of them all… for their lives. You have helped us try to begin the healing process by seeing the strength each one of you have. Thank you for today. We will never forget. #vegasstrong —-

A post shared by Brittany Aldean (@brittanyaldean) on Oct 8, 2017 at 2:55pm PDT

The local CBS outlet posted pics of Aldean meeting with some shooting victims in the hospital.

Aldean flew to Vegas after performing a surprise cold open on Saturday Night Live the previous night, where he paid tribute to the victims and to late rock star Tom Petty, who died at age 66 less than 24 hours after the shooting. “Like everyone, I’m struggling to understand what happened that night, and how to pick up the pieces and start to heal,” Aldean said to the camera prior to the performance. “So many people are hurting. There are children, parents, brothers, sisters, friends — they’re all part of our family. So I want to say to them: We hurt for you, and we hurt with you.”

With tears in his eyes, the singer then played a cover of Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down.”

In another tribute to those killed and injured, the Las Vegas Strip went dim from 10:05-10:16 p.m. on Sunday night to mark one week since the shooting. Afterwards, the city’s Twitter account posted new messages of unity and strenth.

 

 

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