An Open Letter to Those Affected by the Las Vegas Shooting

Waking up to news of the largest mass shooting in US history isn't what anyone wanted on a Monday morning or any morning. As of 9 AM there have been over 50 reported dead and 400 injured in this act of terrorism.

Immediately I thought of all the posts I had seen online about the festival all weekend. I had a couple friends in Vegas specifically for the event and I automatically searched them out to see if they were OK. The good news is that they were fine, but I know that there were people making the same searches I was this morning and not getting good news out of it. My heart breaks just thinking about it, and all those families and victims are in my prayers.

The last place you expect this kind of thing to happen is a country festival. I have been to more country concerts than I can count and it has always been a place where friends come together to have a great time, and forget about all the bad in the world for a few hours. Unfortunately that wasn't the case this weekend in Las Vegas when Jason Aldean took the stage for the Route 91 Festival. Country music is something that holds this nation together. It is the music a lot of us grew up on, especially in Central Minnesota, and it is what we know and love. For it to be violated in this way is completely sickening.

We don't know what the shooter's motive was for committing this terrible act, nor might we ever know. But what I do know is that we will get through this. This country has been pressed with some trying times lately, and this won't be the last bad thing that happens.

So what do we do now? I am just a radio DJ in Minnesota, I don't have all the answers. But there are a few things I think each person can do. Just get back to the basics and be kind to one another. Make sure your actions are ones of help, not hurt. And just try to be good people. It's a good place to start.

My heart goes out to all the victims of this terrible tragedy that happened in Vegas. Keep them in your prayers and hug your loved ones a little bit tighter.