Las Vegas Shooting: Georgia Country Artists React

Country star Jason Aldean, a native of Macon, was performing in Las Vegas Sunday night when a man opened fire on the crowd with high-powered automatic weapons — killing at least 58 people and injuring more than 500.

On Monday, Aldean, who was not injured in the shooting, and other Georgia country music artists were speaking up, sending condolences and love to the victims of what's being described as the deadliest mass shooting in United States history.

"Tonight has been beyond horrific ...," Aldean wrote on Instagram. "It hurts my heart that this would happen to anyone who was just coming out to enjoy what should have been a fun night."

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Aldean confirmed that he and his crew were safe in the post, which included an image with the words "Pray for Las Vegas" and the hashtags #heartbroken and #stopthehate. (SIGN UP: Get Patch's Daily Newsletter and Real Time News Alerts. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app.)

Aldean, 40, grew up in Macon while also spending time with his father in Homestead, Fla. The early years of his career included performances at country music showcases in Atlanta and elsewhere in the state before he moved to Nashville in 1998.

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Other Georgia musicians were posting about the tragedy that had hit their community as well.

"Words can't begin (to) explain my sadness," wrote Luke Bryan, a native of Leesburg in south Georgia near Albany, on Twitter. "My family and I are praying for the victims of this tragedy. Truly heartbroken."

Sadness was a recurring theme in the artists' posts.

"My wife woke me to tell me about #Vegas," wrote Corey Smith, who is from Jefferson, near Athens. "She was crying. For a moment, I thought I was just having a bad dream. I wasn't. Sickening."

"I just can't even fathom what happened in Vegas," wrote Valdosta native Thomas Rhett. "My heart is broken. My love and all my prayers go out to every family and friend who suffered loss, and everyone who was there. May God be with you through this tragic time."

Lauren Alaina, who is from Rossville in northwest Georgia, had played at the Route 91 Festival, which Aldean's performance was a part of, on Saturday.

"Praying for everyone at Route 91. That crowd was one of the best I've played for all year," she tweeted early Monday morning.

Alaina confirmed that she and all of her crew were home and safe by the time of the shooting.

"I won't be sleeping tonight," she wrote in a second post. "Instead I am going to pray and pray and pray for the people in Vegas."

The Vegas shooter, identified as 64-year-old Stephen Paddock of Mesquite, Nevada, opened fire on the crowd from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino. Las Vegas Sheriff Joe Lombardo said Paddock killed himself before officers entered his hotel room.

It was 10:08 p.m. local time Sunday and more than 22,000 people had gathered at a 15-acre lot across from the Mandalay Bay for the final night of the Route 91 Harvest Country Music Festival. Aldean had been performing for about 20 minutes at the time of the shooting.

Photo: Jason Aldean performs on stage at Jiffy Lube Live on Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017 in Bristow, Va. (Photo by Brent N. Clarke/Invision/AP)