Las Vegas Mass Shooting: Country Music Reacts

NASHVILLE, TN — The country music world is reacting with shock and sadness after a 64-year-old man opened fire Sunday night from a 32nd-floor window at Las Vegas' Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino, shooting in a massive crowd below gathered to watch the headlining performance of Jason Aldean at the Route 91 Harvest Festival. At least 50 people were killed.

Jake Owen, whose set preceded Aldean's and was on the rear of the stage when the shooting began, tweeted "Gun shots!!! Vegas. Pray to god. Love you guys. Love you Pearl." Pearl is Owen's 4-year-old daughter. Owen joined Bobby Bones' nationally syndicated radio show Monday morning and said, "This sounded like a full-on automatic rifle just unloading."

"At that point, you could see Jason [Aldean] was out on the catwalk, and he just put his guitar in the air and started running back toward the drum set to get off the stage. And that's when you knew. People started fleeing in the crowd. It was wild," Owen said.

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Listen to Owen's appearance:

On Instagram, Aldean confirmed he and his crew are OK.

"Tonight has been beyond horrific. I still dont know what to say but wanted to let everyone know that Me and my Crew are safe. My Thoughts and prayers go out to everyone involved tonight. It hurts my heart that this would happen to anyone who was just coming out to enjoy what should have been a fun night," he wrote.

Chris Young, who is touring with Aldean but was not on the festival bill, tweeted he laid on the floor of a trailer as gunshots rang out.

Las Vegas Police said the shooter, 64-year-old Stephen Paddock of Mesquite, Nevada, shot himself as officers made entry to the hotel room. Investigators said he had as many as 10 high-powered weapons with him. The shooting is the deadliest in United States history.

After a weekend of tweets about the raucous, party-like atmosphere at the Vegas festival , the social media tone of other performers on the Route 91 bill changed jarringly as word of the massacre spread.

As the news spread eastward and Nashville awoke to the news of the tragedy, reactions from the broader country music world poured in.

Nashville record labels began confirming mid-morning Monday that artists and staff were OK.

Photo via AP Photo/John Locher