The world of music is shocked after the terrible events that took place last Friday at Travis Scott’s famous Astroworld Festival in Houston, Texas, where eight people passed, plus hundreds were injured during the rapper’s performance. The local police have declared the incident as a mass-casualty event, and allegedly it’s one of the deadliest disasters in American history including the 1979 tragedy at a The Who concert in Cincinnati that left a death toll of 11 people. Beside the tragic loss of the eight lives registered so far, there are many victims that are still in critical condition at several hospitals in the area including that of a nine-year-old boy.
What happened?
The incident began past 9 pm during Travis Scott’s presentation. The rush the appearance of the rapper caused in the audience prompted them to start pushing towards the stage, getting people crushed among the assistants. According to police reports, there were about 50,000 people at the Astroworld Festival that took place at the NRG Park, the complex where the Astrodome (where the name of the festival comes from) and the NRG Stadium are located.
Although ambulances and security rushed to the core where the chaos was taking place, the rapper’s show kept going for another 30 minutes, sparking outrage on social media. Allegedly unaware of the deadly casualties of the show, Scott finished his performance saying: “I love y’all. Make it home safe. Good night!” Referring to the continuation of the show after the events started developing, Troy Finner, the Houston police chief, claimed that they decided to keep the show going to prevent possible riots and a worse scenario than the one being developed.
Naturally, after the tragic incident on the first day of Astroworld, the festival organizers decided to cancel the remaining portion that was going to take place on Saturday.
[Instagram: @travisscott]
Casualties
As for today, the death casualties remain at eight, of which age ranges from 14 to 27. Two of them were minors. Right after the incident, over 300 people were treated for injuries at the park, and over 25 were transported to the hospital. One of the worst cases is that of a nine-year-old boy who was at his dad’s shoulders when the colapse began. His father lost conscious after being crushed and the boy fell causing major damage on his brain, lungs and kidney. He was transported to the Texas Children’s Hospital where he had to be induced to a coma to reduce the swelling of his brain. His aunt declared on an interview to the Today Show that the concert was a “a death trap.”
What is Astroworld?
Astroworld is an annual music festival organized by rapper Travis Scott that started in 2018 as part of the launching of his album with the same name. Last year, the festival had to be canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and this year, which was the third Astroworld, had to be canceled after the events that occurred on the first day.
Travis Scott’s reaction
On Saturday, the rapper went to social media to talk about the tragic events that took place during his show. He said he was devastated about the events, and that he is in the best disposition to collaborate with the local police during the investigation. Kylie Jenner, who is expecting her second child with Scott, also shared a message on social media claiming that they didn’t know people had died until they saw it on the news. The Astroworld organizers also issued similar statements sending their thoughts and prayers to the families of those who tragically lost their lives.
[Twitter: @trvisXX]
First lawsuit
It was just a matter of time for lawsuits to start being issued. The first one comes from a Houston resident and assistant to the festival who was injured during the incident. Manuel Souza claimed that the tragedy “was predictable and preventable,” and has sued the festival, the organization, and Travis Scott (Jacques Webster II), among others, for 1 million dollars.
Other incidents involving Travis Scott
Souza’s lawsuit has brought back other incidents that have happened on Travis Scott’s shows. According to Souza’s lawyer, this tragedy “was months, if not years, in the making.” He quoted one of Scott’s tweets, which has now been deleted, in which he encouraged fans to sneak in into one of his shows and listed three previous incidents in his performances.
It seems that one of Scott’s habits during his shows is encouraging audiences to get wild without thinking about the consequences this might bring. In 2015, he told the audience to climb the security barricades and reach the stage. He was arrested and pleaded guilty to the charges of reckless conduct.
In 2017, one fan was pushed from a three-stories edge during one of Scott’s presentations in Manhattan, which was severely crowded. The fan was paralyzed. Later that year, it was reported that after encouraging people to pass security to reach the stage a security guard resulted severely injured. Once again, Travis Scott pleaded guilty.
The tragic events that took place this past Friday at the Astroworld Festival should make Scott reconsider how he engages with his fans.
Cover photo: Facebook page Astroworld / GREGNOIRE / Instagram @travisscott
