Jason Aldean says he hopes for healing after Vegas shooting

NASHVILLE Country star Jason Aldean says he hopes that healing can start for those affected by a mass shooting at a Las Vegas music festival in his first interview since the October shooting.

Speaking on NBC’s “Today” show, Aldean, who was on stage when a gunman opened fire on the crowd at the Route 91 Harvest Festival, said that he initially thought a speaker had blown when he heard a sound like a crackling over his in-ear monitors. After the shooting continued, he looked over to the side of the stage to figure out what was going on.

“When I turned to look, my guitar player had run behind me and was telling me to move, like ‘Let’s go,’” Aldean said.

Fifty-eight people were killed and hundreds more injured in the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history after gunman Stephen Paddock opened fire from the 32nd floor of a hotel-casino. SWAT teams with explosives then stormed his room and found he had killed himself.

“Everyone was scrambling, just didn’t know what was going on,” Aldean said. “It was panic. That’s probably the best way to describe it.”

The country star cancelled some of his tour dates, but resumed touring about two weeks after the shooting.

Aldean did not address gun control in the interview.

“At the end of the day, we’re all in this together,” Aldean said. “We spend so much time arguing with each other and not enough time like working on the issue that is really the problem.”