Jason Aldean mourns loss of 'Rhino,' guard who saved him from Las Vegas massacre: 'RIP'

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Jason Aldean has lost a loved one.

On Wednesday, the 44-year-old country singer took to Instagram to announce that his security guard – and longtime friend – Ryan "Rhino" Fleming had died.

The star shared several images of himself with his late pal, including photos of them in performance venues and spending time with other loved ones.

"Man this is a hard post to write. We lost one of our boys today," Aldean began in the caption. "Ryan Fleming aka @rhinolin3 was a friend I grew up with in Georgia. 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."

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The "Heaven" singer said that when it came time for him to hire security, he had "no question" as to who to hire – Fleming was the obvious choice.

"He came out and traveled the world with us and for years if u saw me, Rhino wasn’t too far away," Aldean continued. "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."

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Aldean was performing on stage in 2017 at the Route 91 Harvest music festival in Las Vegas when a gunman opened fire from a balcony at the nearby Mandalay Bay hotel and killed dozens of people attending the concert before taking his own life. The total death count – including two people who died later as a result of their injuries and the gunman himself – was 61 people.

The singer concluded his tribute: "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."

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Jason Aldean was performing onstage in Las Vegas in 2017 when a gunman opened fire and killed more than 50 concertgoers and people in the area. (Getty Images)

Fleming also received a tribute from Aldean on Twitter on the same day. The tweet contained a photo of the security guard's silhouette against lights from a stage.

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"Thank you Rhino!" the country star wrote alongside the pic. "See ya down the road one day bro. RIP."

Aldean previously addressed dealing with his trauma from the event, saying during a 2019 appearance on "The Kelly Clarkson Show" that he, his wife and his band "leaned on each other" and "talked through it."