The Killers frontman Brandon Flowers has paid tribute to the victims of the Las Vegas shooting with a lengthy emotional message posted online.

Sunday evening (October 1) saw a mass shooting taking place at the Route 91 Harvest festival in Las Vegas, claiming the lives of 59 people and leaving countless others injured. Gunman Stephen Paddock, 64, opened fire from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino, targeting music fans at the country music festival.

After his band originally tweeted a short tribute, Flowers has now taken to Facebook to write: “I’m a Vegas boy. I always have been and—even though I just moved my wife and kids to Utah—I always will be. This past Sunday on a flight home from Australia, I flew over my hometown. Forehead to the window I looked down on Las Vegas and felt a prick of nostalgia. I thought about my mother buried below, I thought about my friends in Henderson, and I even traced Flamingo road down to where it meets the 95 and pin pointed my high school, Chaparral. I could see the city as a whole, but I couldn’t look close enough to see what was about to unfold.”


“It’s hard to believe it’s real,” he added. “My prayers go out to those whose lives were taken and to everyone else affected by this nightmare. I’m devastated for my community and for all of the people who gather together to see live music. Some of the happiest moments of my life have happened at concerts. They are a rite of passage, a holy communion, or just the kind of escape from the stress and the grind of daily life that so many people need. My heart swells when I hear the stories of people putting their lives on the line to help each other—defying the stereotypes of what people say Las Vegas is all about. We’re all long lost brothers and sisters. I miss my town, I miss my mom, I miss these victims I didn’t even know, but I look forward to getting together with you real soon to keep their memory alive.”

I'm a Vegas boy. I always have been and—even though I just moved my wife and kids to Utah—I always will be. This past… Posted by The Killers on Wednesday, October 4, 2017

See the post in full above.