Las Vegas Mass Shooting: Michael Phelps Was On Stage First Night Of Festival

Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps said he and his wife were at the concert venue where the Las Vegas mass shooting occurred, two nights before a gunman opened fire there.

"We literally were standing on stage...in the exact spot where people got shot," Phelps said on Facebook Live Monday morning, after more than 50 people were gunned down and more than 400 injured at the Route 91 Harvest Festival.

"That's exactly where we were standing on Friday night," Phelps said, explaining he and his wife were standing to the left of the performers on stage.

The shooting began at 10:08 p.m. local time Sunday. More than 22,000 people had gathered at a 15-acre lot across from the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino for the final night of the country music festival.

Country star Jason Aldean was on stage and had been performing for about 20 minutes when shots rang out. The initial barrage lasted for about 30 seconds, and then there was a pause before the shooting started again. Concertgoers panicked and climbed over each other, running for safety as people standing next to them were shot.

"We were at the event for two hours and then flew home," Phelps said of his attendance at the show Friday. "Mind-blowing."

Phelps sent thoughts and prayers via Facebook Live to those affected by the Las Vegas shootings.

"I'm very happy we weren't there," Phelps told his followers.

His wife, Nicole Phelps, shared a concert photo on Instagram, alerting friends that the picture was taken Friday. They had been watching country singer Eric Church perform on the first night of the festival.

"I woke to texts from friends asking if we were still in Vegas," Nicole Phelps wrote Monday.

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The gunman – Stephen Paddock, 64, of Mesquite, Nevada – opened fire Sunday night from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino. In the span of about two minutes, he killed at least 59 people and injured more than 500 others in the deadliest mass shooting in United States history.

Paddock killed himself before officers entered his hotel room, according to Las Vegas Sheriff Joe Lombardo.

Michael Phelps said he was surprised that a gunman chose the Jason Aldean concert to unleash a shower of gunfire: "A country concert. Really?" he asked.

"...it's hard to know where we are really safe," Michael Phelps said. "It's a crazy place, crazy world we live in nowawadays."

Main image, the immediate aftermath of the mass shooting on the Las Vegas Strip (Las Vegas Boulevard) in Las Vegas, Nevada, outside the Route 91 Harvest Festival on Sunday, Oct. 1. Photo by Associated Press/GOTPAP/STAR MAX/IPx.