Jason Aldean Marks Fifth Anniversary of Las Vegas Shootings: ‘It’s Still a Rough Day’
Jason Aldean turned to social media on Saturday (Oct. 1) to mark the fifth anniversary of the mass shootings that took place at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas in 2017, saluting his "Route 91 family."
Aldean posted a photo of himself and those who were on hand at the festival with him when the shootings took place.
"My Route 91 Family!" he writes to accompany the picture. "5 years later and it’s still a rough day. Thinking about all you guys today."
A lone gunman killed 58 people when he opened fire from his room at the Mandalay Bay hotel across the street from the festival in Las Vegas on Oct. 1, 2017. Hundreds more were wounded, and two more people later died of their injuries.
Aldean was on stage performing his set on the closing night of the three-day festival when the shooting began, and he posts a remembrance every year on the anniversary of the shooting rampage.
The country superstar was especially reflective when he posted in 2020, writing, "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. October 1st will always be a day for us that is extremely hard to relive. To everyone in the Route 91 family, we love u guys and we couldn’t have gotten through it without you."
Authorities never established a motive for the shootings. On Sept. 30, 2020, just one day before the third anniversary of the shootings, a judge approved an $800 million settlement to end a class-action lawsuit from more than 4,000 victims and their families. A portion of the settlement came from the Mandalay Bay, but the majority — more than $750 million — came from liability insurance.
The mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Festival is the subject of a new four-part documentary series titled 11 Minutes, which premiered on Paramount+ on Sept. 27. Jason Aldean is among the those who participated in the docuseries, sharing his recollections of the tragedy.