Celebrity Celebrity Deaths Celebrity Death Tributes Jason Aldean Pays Tribute to Late Friend Ryan Fleming, Who Pulled Him Off Stage at Mass Shooting “He was a good man and an even better friend. We will all miss you brother and thank you for having my back all these years. We love ya Rhino! RIP," Jason Aldean wrote on Instagram By Rachel DeSantis Rachel DeSantis Rachel DeSantis is a senior writer on the music team at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2019, and her work has previously appeared in Entertainment Weekly and the New York Daily News. People Editorial Guidelines Published on August 27, 2021 05:45PM EDT Photo: instagram Jason Aldean is mourning the loss of his longtime friend and security guard Ryan "Rhino" Fleming, the man who pulled the singer off stage at the 2017 Route 91 mass shooting in Las Vegas. Aldean, 44, paid tribute to Fleming on Instagram Wednesday, writing "We lost one of our boys today." "Ryan Fleming aka @rhinolin3 was a friend I grew up with in Georgia," the post read. "He was a bouncer at our favorite bar in Macon when he was 18, then went to work for the Sheriffs dept as he got older." "When it came time for me to hire a security guy that I knew would always look out for me and my family, there was no question for me that person was Rhino. He came out and traveled the world with us and for years if u saw me, Rhino wasn't too far away," he continued. Morgan Wallen Joins Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean, Tyler Hubbard for Songs and Shots in Surprise Arena Appearance The "If I Didn't Love You" singer described the selfless lengths Fleming went to to keep him safe when a gunman opened fire while Aldean was on stage at the Route 91 Harvest music festival in Las Vegas in October 2017. Sixty people were killed in the shooting. "He was the person who pulled me offstage during the Route 91 shooting and put his life in danger to take care of me and my crew," Aldean wrote. "He was a good man and an even better friend. We will all miss you brother and thank you for having my back all these years. We love ya Rhino! RIP." Aldean included a series of photos alongside his tribute, including a silly shot of Fleming in a long blonde wig. The next day, he shared a moving image of Fleming watching him perform on stage. "Thank you Rhino! See ya down the road one day bro. RIP," he captioned the post. The country star's wife Brittany also paid tribute to Fleming, writing that she "will love and miss [him] forever." "Thank you for protecting us. You are family, forever and always," she wrote. "Our hearts are broken. I know you're up in heaven with your Mama and Poncho. Lord knows they've missed you. Till we meet again my friend. Love you so much." Jason Aldean and Wife Brittany Remember 'Worst Night of Our Lives' at Las Vegas Shooting Aldean's initial post announcing Fleming's death drew condolences from many country stars, including Kane Brown, Luke Bryan, Morgan Wallen, Chuck Wicks and Charles Kelley of Lady A. "My favorite time with him was when he would ride my bus and drink a whole 24 pack to his self… the window was lined with empty cans," Brown wrote in the comments section. "Can't even believe it." Added Bryan: "I saw him pick up a whole camper trailer one night at New Years. Crazy Thang I ever saw. Then we rode the farm looking for fallen trees to build a bonfire. And we built a damn big one. Smiling thinking about. Love ya buddy." According to his LinkedIn page, Fleming served as the deputy sheriff of the Bibb County Sheriff's Office in Georgia from 2008 to 2013. Close