Dierks Bentley paid a visit to Las Vegas on Monday (Oct. 9) in the wake of the recent mass shooting there, and he took some time out to visit with first responders who have worked so diligently since the tragedy unfolded on Oct. 1.
The worst mass shooting in modern American history took place during Jason Aldean‘s headlining set on the third night of the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas, when a lone gunman opened fire on the crowd from his nearby hotel room, killing at least 58 people and wounding nearly 500 more.
Bentley visited Monday with the staff at University Medical Center of Southern Nevada, a Level I trauma center whose staff were among the many law enforcement, emergency management and medical care who not only mobilized in response to the shooting, but have worked tirelessly since to tend to the many who require longer term care. Bentley shared pictures from his visit in a post to Instagram, showing him meeting with a variety of staff members and performing an acoustic set.
“Thank you @umcsn for letting me stop by and hang with y’all for a little bit,” Bentley writes to accompany the photo montage above, adding, “thank you for sharing your stories and your time. I needed that.”
Bentley added another series of photos that showed him posing with law enforcement and firefighters — who he called “everyday heroes among us” — and joining in a prayer circle and group hug with what may have been staff members or survivors of the shooting.
Bentley admits he was devastated by the shooting in the days immediately afterward.
“I’m having a hard time even physically moving right now. I had to take Twitter off my phone because I’ve just been looking at it for two days straight,” he told the Hollywood Reporter. “It’s just the heaviest, darkest thing I can remember since 9/11.”
He pulled himself out of the darkness by contributing to a Red Cross blood drive for the Vegas victims, writing, “First smile in two days thanks to being around other donors and great people.”
“My relationship with country music fans, as well as my band and my crew’s relationship with them, is something we all cherish so deeply. Some of those friendships have been forged for well over a decade,” he reflects. “My heart breaks over and over again for all those fans in Las Vegas and their families.”
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