Instagram star Dan Bilzerian witnessed the deadly mass shooting in Las Vegas on Sunday, October 1.
The professional poker player, 36, shared a series of expletive-filled Instagram Story videos of himself fleeing the scene after a gunman opened fire on the crowd at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. At least 58 people were killed in the attack and more than 500 were injured, making it the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
Bilzerian told his 22.8 million followers that he witnessed a woman get injured. “So f–king crazy,” he said as rapid gunfire was heard in the background.
In a follow-up video posted approximately one hour later, the so-called Instagram King said, “I had to grab a gun. I’m f–king headed back. It’s f–king so crazy. Some kind of mass shooting. F–king guy had a heavy calibre or whatever.”
Soon after, Bilzerian headed home. “I don’t think there’s much I can do,” he admitted.
It’s no secret that the Tampa native is a gun rights advocate. In 2013, he posted an Instagram photo of his firearm collection. “My greatest fear is that someone will break in & I won’t be able to decide what #gun to shoot them with,” he wrote at the time.
U.S. Marine Corps veteran Dakota Meyer, who is married to Bristol Palin, criticized Bilzerian for running from the scene. “This is why children shouldn’t classify heroes by their followers or their photos. @danbilzerian this is what kills me about people like you. Always playing ‘operator dress up’ and so so tough when the cameras are on. A woman just got shot … and you are running away filming that’s not what operators do,” Meyer, 29, wrote on Instagram on Monday, October 2.
The Medal of Honor recipient added, “Please stop trying to be someone your [sic] not. People are dying, you’re running away not helping them and pretending it’s worthy of a video is disgusting.”
Police identified the Las Vegas shooting suspect as Stephen Paddock, a 64-year-old resident of Mesquite, Nevada. He died of what law enforcement believe was a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Jason Aldean was performing on stage at the time of the attack. The country singer, 40, and his team are safe.
