Eight people were killed and hundreds were injured [1] after a large crowd surged towards the stage during Travis Scott's Astroworld Festival at Houston's NRG Park on 5 Nov. Scott has since spoken out in a series of statements, along with Astroworld organisers and Live Nation, and has vowed to refund all concertgoers, as well as pay for the funeral expenses of the victims.
A criminal investigation is currently underway and all parties involved are cooperating. "This incident is being thoroughly investigated [2] and reviewed", Texas Mayor Sylvester Turner said in a press conference on Saturday. "It is important for us to ascertain what happened, what took place and what missteps occurred". The tragedy that took place at Scott's Astroworld Festival serves as an important reminder that we must take the safety of concertgoers much more seriously. We will continue to follow this story as it develops, in the meantime, keep reading to see everything that's unfolded so far.
5 Nov., 2021: 8 People Killed and Hundreds Injured at Astroworld
Eight people were killed [3] and scores of others were injured after a large crowd rushed the stage during Travis Scott's Astroworld Festival in Houston, Texas. The incident occurred just after 9 p.m. CT, and about 30 minutes later, the Houston Fire Department initiated a "mass casualty incident", transporting people to hospitals. Of the eight people, one was 14, two were 16, two others were 23, one was 27, and one person's age remains unknown.
"Last night was tragic on many different levels, and this is a very, very active investigation," Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said in a statement, according to NPR. "And we'll probably be at it for quite some time to determine what exactly happened." Around 50,000 people were in attendance [4] at the time of the tragedy.
Writer Mark Elibert, who attended the festival, shared his experience with Billboard's Dan Rys [5] in an article. "By the fourth or fifth song, there was a girl who walked out in front of me crying, she said she couldn't breathe, that she felt like her ribs were breaking, and a bunch of people were trying to help, calming her down. The show kept going," he recounted. "A few times Travis stopped the show to try to calm people down and try to get people to help each other in the crowd. But it seemed off, and he seemed like he didn't know what was going on. At one point, he looked like he was trying to figure out what was going on in the crowd. Then Drake came on, everyone went crazy."
He continued, "After I got home I started looking at the videos and connecting the dots with what I'd seen. I've seen Travis perform a lot of times. He always had crazy shows. But this was the first time that energy was off."
6 Nov. 2021: Travis Scott Speaks Out
Festival organisers released a statement via Astroworld's Twitter account [6], announcing the cancelation of day two of the weekend event. "Our hearts are with the Astroworld Festival family tonight — especially those we lost and their loved ones," the statement read. "We are focussed on supporting local officials however we can. With that in mind the festival will no longer be held on Saturday."
Shortly after, Scott released a statement of his own, saying, "I'm absolutely devastated by what took place last night. My prayers go out to the families and all those impacted by what happened at Astroworld Festival." He added that Houston PD has his "total support as they continue to look into the tragic loss of life". "Love You All", he concluded.
Kylie Jenner, who was at the festival with her 3-year-old daughter Stormi, shared a statement as well [7] on her Instagram Stories. "Travis and I are broken and devastated. My thoughts and prayers are with all who lost their lives, were injured or affect in anyway by yesterday's events. And also for Travis who I know cares deeply for his fans and the Houston community," she wrote. Kylie also addressed the backlash she received for continuing to post footage from the festival after the incident occurred on her Instagram. "I want to make it clear we weren't aware of any fatalities until the news came out after the show and in no world would have continued filming or performing," she added.
That same day, concertgoer Manuel Souza filed a lawsuit against Scott [8] and Live Nation, calling the incident a "predictable and preventable tragedy". According to Billboard, the court documents state that the tragedy was the result of "a motivation for profit at the expense of concertgoers' health and safety" and the "encouragement of violence". "Defendants failed to properly plan and conduct the concert in a safe manner", Souza's attorney, Steve Kherkher of the firm Kherkher Garcia LLP, wrote. "Instead, they consciously ignored the extreme risks of harm to concertgoers, and, in some cases actively encouraged and fomented dangerous behaviours."
8 Nov., 2021: Travis Scott Says He'll Cover the Funeral Expenses of Astroworld Victims
In addition to refunding all concertgoers who purchased tickets [9] for the original two-day scheduled music festival, Scott issued a press release saying he will pay for the funeral expenses [10] of the eight victims. He also announced a partnership with BetterHelp [11] to provide free online sessions with a licensed therapist for the anyone affected by the tragedy and cancelled his performance at the Day N Vegas festival, saying he is "too distraught to play."
In a statement to POPSUGAR, Live Nation said, "We continue to support and assist local authorities in their ongoing investigation so that both the fans who attended and their families can get the answers they want and deserve, and we will address all legal matters at the appropriate time."
In a separate statement on Twitter [12], ScoreMore shared an update on "the steps ScoreMore, Live Nation, and the Astroworld Fest team have been taking" since the tragedy. "We have been working to provide local authorities with everything they need from us in order to complete their investigation and get everyone the answers they are lookin for," the statement said. ScoreMore also said they've met with local authorities to provide information and CCTV footage from the event and are "working on ways to support attendees, the families of victims, and staff, from providing mental health counselling to setting up a health fund to help with costs for medical expenses."
As of 8 Nov., more than a dozen lawsuits have been filed [13] against Scott and Astroworld organisers.
8 Nov. 2021: Drake Breaks His Silence
Drake [14], who performed alongside Scott during Astroworld Festival on Friday night, is finally breaking his silence. On 8 Nov., the 35-year-old rapper released a statement [15] via his Instagram account. "I've spent the past few days trying to wrap my mind around this devastating tragedy," he wrote in a statement shared to nearly 96 million followers. "I hate resorting to this platform to express an emotion as delicate as grief but this is where I find myself." He concluded his statement by offering his prayers and condolences to the families and friends of concertgoers who lost their lives.
8 Nov., 2021: House Police Chief Confirms That He Spoke With Travis Scott Prior to Astroworld
Days after the Astroworld tragedy, Houston Police Chief Troy Finner released a statement [16] via the Houston Police Department Twitter account, confirming that he spoke to Scott and his team prior to the festival to express safety concerns. "I met with Travis Scott and his head of security for a few moments last Friday prior to the main event," it read. "I expressed my concerns regarding public safety and that in my 31 years of law enforcement experience I have never seen a time with more challenges facing citizens of all ages, to include a global pandemic and social tension throughout the nation. I asked Travis Scott and his team to work with HPD for all events over the weekend and to be mindful of his team's social media messaging on any unscheduled events. The meeting was brief and respectful, and a chance for me to share my public safety concerns as Chief of Police." Finner added that a criminal investigation remains ongoing.
9 Nov., 2021: FBI Joins the Criminal Investigation Into Astroworld Tragedy
As previously stated by Houston's police chief, a criminal investigation remains ongoing. It involves the Houston Police Department and the city of Houston, but now the FBI has joined the investigation [17]. "We're working to figure out which entity can do that investigation," Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo told KPRC 2 Houston, "because there's so many different players."
11 Nov., 2021: Ninth Person Dies Following Astroworld Tragedy
Bharti Shahani, 22, died [18] on 11 Nov. after attending Astroworld Festival. Shahani, who was a student at Texas A&M University, had been on a ventilator in critical condition due to the injuries she suffered at the concert. "This was her first music festival, our first music festival. She was looking forward to it. She had her outfits planned," Namrata Shahani, Bharti's younger sister, told CNN. She added: "For the first time in her life, she just wanted to have fun and that was taken from her."