Luke Combs Shares Message of Solidarity With Fans Affected By Route 91 Shooting
Country star Luke Combs shared a heartfelt message of solidarity with his fans and all of those affected by the 2017 Route 91 Harvest Festival shooting on the anniversary of the event(Oct. 1), saying that he's thinking about those who continue to suffer in the wake of the tragedy. Combs performed at the festival just hours before the massacre, which killed 58 and injured over 800 others, took place.
"One year ago today, my world changed, my band and crew's world changed, and the whole world changed," Combs writes. "A night meant for music was silenced by the sound of gunfire. 58 people lost their lives that night and thousands more will never be the same."
Combs had been hanging out on fellow country star Jake Owen's tour bus on Oct. 1, 2017, when the two singers decided to head over to the stage to check out Jason Aldean's set. When the shooting began, they were backstage. "We heard the first four shots ring out, and doing music for a living -- you deal with pyrotechnics a lot onstage. And so nobody onstage really even batted an eye. It just seemed like it was part of the show," Combs told Today at the time.
"It was a few minutes after that when pandemonium set in, and the bursts kept happening," he continues. "Originally everyone was panicking, but me and my manager were pretty calm. I've been around firearms, and it didn't sound like gunfire to me. Then I was in the catering tent with a fan who had kind of wandered back, and we were both talking about how it wasn't gunfire. But then we heard the next burst, and it sounded like maybe [the gunman] had put a weapon out of the window, which would completely change the sound." At that point, Combs says, he realized that an active shooter was attacking the festival.
On the anniversary of the massacre, Combs offered a message of support to everyone whose lives are still affected, as well as a reminder to all his fans to cherish the people in their lives. "No one could every expect something like this to happen, so if you're reading this just take a second to appreciate waking up today and getting to live your life and make sure you hug your loved ones a little tighter. If you're suffering today, just know that this ole boy is thinking about you and that you are never alone."
Remembering the Route 91 Harvest Festival Shooting Victims