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Astroworld Festival crowd crush

Coordinates: 29°41′16″N 95°25′05″W / 29.68778°N 95.41806°W / 29.68778; -95.41806
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Astroworld Festival crowd crush
NRG Park, the location of Astroworld Festival. The venue itself is on the far left of this photograph.
DateNovember 5, 2021 (2021-11-05)
Timec. 9:00–10:10 p.m. CDT[1] (UTC−5)
LocationNRG Park
Houston, Texas, U.S.
Coordinates29°41′16″N 95°25′05″W / 29.68778°N 95.41806°W / 29.68778; -95.41806
TypeCrowd crush
CauseUnder investigation[2]
Deaths8
Non-fatal injuries300+ (25 hospitalized)[3]

On November 5, 2021, a crowd crush occurred during the first night of the Astroworld Festival, a music event in Houston, Texas, operated by American rapper Travis Scott.[4][5] Eight people died during the event, with the causes of death still under investigation.[3][2] A further 25 were hospitalized and more than 300 people were treated for injuries at the festival's field hospital.[4][6][7]

Background

Astroworld Festival is an annual music festival run by Travis Scott, held at the NRG Park in Houston, Texas. Scott has previously been cited for disorderly conduct related to his concerts; at Lollapalooza in 2015, Scott was arrested and charged for disorderly conduct after inciting concertgoers to ignore security and rush the stage.[8] In 2017, Scott was arrested for similar conduct after a performance in northwest Arkansas.[9] In 2019, three people were injured in a stampede at Astroworld Festival.[10]

The 2021 festival had approximately 50,000 attendees.[5] The venue could theoretically accommodate 200,000 people.[11] The City of Houston organized the security for the festival. Mayor Sylvester Turner stated that the city provided more security for the festival than it had for the 2021 World Series.[11] The Houston Police Department had 528 officers at the festival and event organizer Live Nation provided another 755 security officers.[3] Earlier in the day, hundreds of fans surged at the festival's perimeter in an attempt to get in, knocking over metal detectors and injuring one person.[10][7] Scott's performance was live streamed on Apple Music.[8]

Crush

The crowd crush occurred when Travis Scott, founder of Astroworld Festival, was performing.

On the first night of the Astroworld Festival, the appearance of Scott on the stage led people to push towards the stage, leading to a crush.[10] According to Houston Fire Chief Sam Peña, the crowd began "to compress toward the front of the stage" between 9:00 p.m. and 9:15 p.m. CDT (UTC-5). Peña said that the crush was not caused by obstructed exits, but by issues close to the stage.[11] As people began to fall and get injured, additional panic ensued.[10] Peña said the most fatal events occurred after 9:30 p.m.[2]

Scott, along with stage crew, paused multiple times during his 75-minute performance when he noticed attendees in distress near the stage.[7] Multiple attendees attempted to get the festival's personnel to end the show early.[1] A concertgoer was filmed informing a cameraman that "people are dying", but another audience member told him that the crowd would take care of it.[11] Other audience members were filmed dancing on an ambulance in the crowd.[1]

According to Peña, medical personnel were quickly overwhelmed as the number of injuries surged.[12] The show's paramedics were seen performing CPR on unconscious attendees.[2] As medical personnel became overwhelmed, audience members attempted to help perform CPR as well.[10] Several people were administered Narcan, a medication used to block the effects of opioids.[13] At 9:38 p.m., officials declared a "mass casualty event" and 17 people were transferred to hospitals.[8][12] Houston Police Chief Larry Satterwhite then reached out to Live Nation promoters, who agreed to end the event early.[14] The show ended at 10:10 p.m.[1]

Victims

At least eight people were killed, ranging from the ages of 14 to 27.[3] Twenty-five others were evacuated to local hospitals, including 11 people found in a state of cardiac arrest.[3][4][10][2] In all, more than 300 people were treated for injuries in a field hospital at the festival.[6][7] Turner said that most of the injuries occurred in one particular area.[11]

Investigation

The causes of death are still under investigation.[2] Drug overdose is being investigated as a potential cause of cardiac arrest.[11] Scott and the event's organizers have coordinated with police as part of their investigation.[12]

TMZ reported that an unknown person allegedly injected multiple people in the crowd with a drug in an apparent targeted attack.[1] Police later confirmed that a security officer reportedly fell unconscious after feeling a prick to his neck, consistent with that of an injection. He was revived with Narcan.[13][15]

Aftermath

A reunification center was set up for families searching for relatives.[7] On November 6, Texas governor Greg Abbott said: "What happened at Astroworld Festival last night was tragic, and our hearts are with those who lost their lives and those who were injured in the terrifying crowd surge."[11] The second night of the festival on November 6 was cancelled.[16][6]

Travis Scott offered his condolences to those who died during the incident and said that the authorities have his total support. He also said that he is committed to working together with the Houston community to support the families in need.[17] Kylie Jenner, Scott's girlfriend, was criticized for Instagram posts depicting the crowd, including one with an ambulance attempting to make its way through the crowd.[18] Scott deleted tweets following the crush which could be considered as having encouraged reckless behavior by fans.[19]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Astroworld Security Guard Pricked in Neck with Needle, Houston PD Says". TMZ. Archived from the original on November 6, 2021. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "8 dead, hundreds injured at Astroworld fest Friday night, hours after stampede". KTRK-TV. November 6, 2021. Archived from the original on November 6, 2021. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Astroworld Festival: Police confirm victims may have been injected with drugs, launches criminal probe". Fox News. November 6, 2021. Archived from the original on November 6, 2021. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  4. ^ a b c Reuters (November 6, 2021). "Crush at Houston music festival kills at least eight, injures many". Reuters. Archived from the original on November 6, 2021. Retrieved November 6, 2021. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  5. ^ a b Villarreal, Alexandra (November 6, 2021). "Astroworld festival concert crush leaves at least eight dead". The Guardian. Archived from the original on November 6, 2021. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  6. ^ a b c Helsel, Phil. "8 dead after panic at Houston Astroworld music festival". NBC News. Archived from the original on November 6, 2021. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  7. ^ a b c d e "Astroworld: Eight killed after crowd surge at US music festival". BBC News. November 6, 2021. Archived from the original on November 6, 2021. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  8. ^ a b c "8 people were killed at Houston's Astroworld Festival after crowd rushed the stage". NPR. November 6, 2021. Archived from the original on November 7, 2021. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  9. ^ Suliman, Adela; Iati, Marisa; Alfaro, Mariana. "Eight dead in 'mass casualty incident' after crowd surge at Travis Scott's Astroworld Festival, officials say". Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 6, 2021. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  10. ^ a b c d e f Hanna, Jason; Elamroussi, Aya; Rose, Andy. "At least 8 dead and many injured after crowd surge at Travis Scott's Astroworld Festival in Houston, officials say". CNN. Archived from the original on November 6, 2021. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g Paybarah, Azi; Moya, Maria Jimenez; Khan, Aina J. (November 6, 2021). "Astroworld Live Updates: Crowd Surge at Travis Scott Concert Leaves at Least 8 Dead". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 6, 2021. Retrieved November 6, 2021 – via NYTimes.com.
  12. ^ a b c Kevin McCoy (November 6, 2021). "At least 8 dead, 'scores' more injured at concert during Astroworld Festival in Texas, officials say". USA Today. Archived from the original on November 6, 2021. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  13. ^ a b "Astroworld Security Officer Was Pricked by a Needle, Treated With Narcan". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 6, 2021. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  14. ^ "8 Dead and Several Injured at Astroworld Festival in Houston". Time. November 6, 2021. Archived from the original on November 6, 2021. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  15. ^ Keith, Morgan (November 6, 2021). "Police say Narcan was used on a security officer at Astroworld who passed out and had a prick on his neck that looked like a possible injection". news.yahoo.com. Retrieved November 7, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  16. ^ Griffin, Louise (November 6, 2021). "Travis Scott's Astroworld festival cancelled on Saturday after eight dead". Metro. Archived from the original on November 6, 2021. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  17. ^ "Travis Scott 'devastated' over deadly music show, offers condolences". The Hill. November 6, 2021. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  18. ^ "Kylie Jenner under fire for sharing social media post of Astroworld Festival tragedy". The Independent. November 6, 2021. Archived from the original on November 6, 2021. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  19. ^ https://consequence.net/2021/11/travis-scott-reckless-behavior-concerts/2/. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
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