"Saturday Night Live" invited a special guest for its first broadcast since the mass shooting at a Las Vegas concert last week. Jason Aldean opened the program with an emotional recollection of what took place at the Route 91 Country Music Festival that killed 58 concertgoers and injured about 500 individuals.
The country singer and his band were performing onstage when bullets rained down from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. Authorities identified Stephen Craig Paddock, 64, as the person responsible for the incident that is now considered the deadliest mass shooting in the modern U.S.
history.
Mass shooting at a Las Vegas music show
The retired accountant was later found dead in his hotel room where high-powered weapons and explosives were also discovered. Police are still investigating the motive that led Stephen Craig Paddock to open fire at the music event.
Meanwhile, Jason Aldean has canceled his weekend shows in California as a sign of respect to the victims and bereaved families of those who did not survive the attack. The "Big Green Tractor" artist also took to Instagram to recall the traumatic experience and to extend his thoughts to the people involved in the tragedy.
"Something has changed in this country and in this world lately that is scary to see," he wrote. "This world is becoming the kind of place I am afraid to raise my children in."
The 40-year-old singer encouraged the public to stand together and act as one to stop the senseless killings.
A few days after the mass shooting, Jason Aldean graced the studio of "Saturday Night Live" to deliver an important message in the wake of Las Vegas attack.
Life after tragedy: Jason Aldean makes first public appearance since mass shooting
The singer confessed it was difficult for him to process the incident he personally witnessed along with thousands of people present at the concert.
"There are children, parents, brothers, sisters, friends. They’re all part of our family," he told the viewers, according to a New York Times report. "So I want to say to them, we hurt for you and we hurt with you."
His heartfelt message was followed by a performance of their own rendition of "I Won't Back Down" by Tom Petty, who recently passed away due to a heart attack. Meanwhile, several artists have also expressed their condemnation of the recent mass shooting, with some of them promising to give monetary donations to the victims and their families.
