HOUSTON, TEXAS- Eight people have died and hundreds more were injured at Travis Scott‘s third-annual Astroworld Festival, a sold-out concert weekend event that took place at NRG Park Friday night.
What we Know About Travis Scott’s Music Event
A stampede of fans climbed over security barricades and trampled one another to get into the festival according to ABC News. However, that was just the start to the tragic night. Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peña stated the worst of the incident began at 9:15 p.m. when approximately 50,000 concert- goers surged toward the front of the stage. “The crowd began to compress toward the front of the stage, and people began to panic,” Peña said.
Concert-goers break through security barricades and proceed to trample one another minutes before gates scheduled to open at Astroworld. Image credit: ABC 13.Authorities reported that more than 300 patients were treated at a field hospital since the event first started. Houston Fire Department and Harris County medics transported 23 people to the hospital. 17 of those people were taken during the peak of the ordeal. Peña also added that CPR was performed on 11 of the victims. Horrifically, CPR was performed on victims in plain sight while the music festival continued on. HFD had 55 units on duty at the festival.
HPD Officers’ Statements
HPD Executive Assistant Chief Larry Satterwhite recalled the horrific events during a morning press conference. “Once we started having the mass casualty incident, they were starting CPR on several people, and it happened all at once,” Satterwhite said. “It seemed like it happened over the course of just a few minutes. Suddenly, we had several people down on the ground experiencing some type of cardiac arrest or some type of medical episode.”
Medical staff were stationed at the park before disaster struck. However, they were quickly ambushed with injured people, authorities said.
Travis Scott’s Statement
— TRAVIS SCOTT (@trvisXX) November 6, 2021
Previous Incidents with Travis Scott’s Performances
Back in 2015, the rapper was charged with disorderly conduct after fans stormed the stage at the Lollapalooza Festival in Chicago reported by Rolling Stone. Scott encouraged fans to climb over security barricades which resulted in the festival getting shut down.
Astroworld Canceled Rest of Scheduled Performances
The rest of the weekend’s planned performances were canceled. The area is now a crime scene as investigators work to find out what exactly happened.
Organizers with Astroworld Festival released the following statement early Saturday morning:
Our hearts are with the Astroworld Festival family tonight – especially those we lost and their loved ones. We are focused on supporting local officials however we can. With that in mind the festival will no longer be held on Saturday. As authorities mentioned in their press conference earlier, they are looking into the series of cardiac arrests that took place. If you have any relevant information on this, please reach out to Houston Police. Thank you to our partners at the Houston Police Department, Fire Department, and NRG Park for their response and support.
