The sad story making rounds is no more fresh news but still a sorrowful one in any case. On Sunday, the 1st day of October, an armed man who was later identified as Stephen Paddock rained gun fire on people that attended a Jason Aldean concert on the Las Vegas strip, at the Route 91 Harvest Festival from his room on the 32nd floor of one of the few luxury Las Vegas hotels there are.
This incident was reported to have left over 500 people injured and about 59 dead. When the police finally found Stephen Paddock, he was dead in a room at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, one of the north strip Las Vegas hotels. It was reported that he might have killed himself and that he acted alone in the shooting spree. For all the world knows, the attendants who were questioned all said they had been in the room at earlier times and noticed nothing amiss either in his attitude or in the room generally, notably, the Mandalay Bay is one of the largest hotels in Las Vegas.
While the motive behind the shooting is still unknown to many and still being investigated by the police, many celebrities all over the world have come together to lend their voice to one cause “praying for Vegas”. They have taken to different social media platforms to condemn the seemingly unexplained and unjustifiable killing, and to say their condolences to the affected families.
Taking to his Instagram account @jasonaldean, the artist who was performing at the time the shooting started, in an emotional message condemned the act and expressed how affected he was by the acts of Paddock, urging everyone to come together as one and stop the hate, he commiserated with the families of the deceased and expressed the pain he felt for them.
Also reacting to the act of violence, Donald Trump, the president of the United States, described the shooting as an “act of pure evil” and also added that he would be at Las Vegas on the 4th to commiserate with the families of the affected people.
Ariana Grande also voicing out her opinion on the unfortunate incident drew inferences from her experience in Manchester earlier this year which had left about 20 people dead and several other injured. Frankly condemning the act, she expressed her unhappiness over the fact that the shooter had not been termed a terrorist but a “lone wolf”. Joining Ariana in her stance on the shooting, several other celebrities like Zendaya, Rihanna, Lady Gaga and Ava DuVernay also expressed their sadness over the incident while praying for the family of the victims and “Las Vegas” as a whole.