Eric Church said Wednesday night "something broke" in him when he heard about the mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival.
The country star told an audience at the Grand Old Opry how memorable his headlining set was last Friday, the festival’s opening night. He recalled jumping down into the crowd to get closer to fans who had come from all over to see him.
"What I saw, that moment in time was frozen," Church said.
“Forty-eight hours later, those places where I was stood, [there] was carnage."
On Sunday night, 59 people were killed and hundreds were injured when a gunman sprayed bullets down on the festival.
“Those were my people. Those were my fans,” said Church, fighting tears.
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The singer paid tribute to Heather Melton, whose husband Sonny died while shielding her from the bullets. She told CNN that Church was the reason the couple attended the festival.
Dedicating his Opry performance to them, Church performed a song he was inspired to write, “Why Not Me.”
Watch his emotional tribute below: