Route 91 festival shooting: How it unfolded on social media

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Friends were gathered to see some of the biggest names in country music.

They buzzed about it on social media, posting pictures under the Las Vegas sun in cowboy hats and Route 91 Harvest Festival t-shirts.

The three-day country music festival that drew an estimated 22,000 people ended in tragedy as singer Jason Aldean performed the last act Sunday night. On social media, excitement around the big-name acts quickly turned to horror as news of shots fired started to spread.

Here’s how it unfolded on social media, from the light-hearted posts of fun-loving fans to the survivors telling loved ones: I’m safe.

11 p.m.

Jake Owen was scheduled to play at 8 p.m. local time, or around 11 p.m. Eastern time.

Jake Owen! #route91harvest #threedayneonsleepover

A post shared by John F. Downs (@john_f_downs) on

12 a.m.

Jason Aldean was closing the festival. He was scheduled to take the stage at 9:40 p.m. local time, or 12:40 a.m. Eastern time.

1 a.m.

Jason Aldean was reportedly seven or eight songs into his set when the first gunshots were fired. Videos show Aldean running off the stage.

Social media users at the scene took to Twitter to warn others. Those learning of the news from afar used the platform to seek information about loved ones.

2 a.m.

3 a.m.

By 3 a.m., police had found the shooter, later identified as Stephen Paddock, dead inside his hotel room on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay casino-hotel tower. He had apparently used a hammer-like device to break the windows before opening fire on the crowd about 400 yards away.

4 a.m.

In the early morning hours on the East Coast, videos and photos continued to make their way to social media. News outlets first reported 20 dead and 100 injured, with expectations those numbers would rise.

6 a.m.

The number of dead increases to 50, and later 58. The number of injured will later grow from 200 to more than 500. As some details about the shooter emerge, still little is known about the victims, but survivors — and their loved ones at home — start to announce that they are safe.