US Houston opens probe into deadly stampede at music festival
A stampede of fans surging toward the stage during rapper Travis Scottâs Astroworld music festival in Houston killed at least eight people and injured dozens more as panic rippled through the crowd of largely young concertgoers, according to officials.
City Police Chief Troy Finner said on Saturday that his department has opened a criminal investigation following unconfirmed reports that someone in the audience âwas injecting other people with drugsâ.
The disaster unfolded at NRG Park at around 9:30pm on Friday during the headline performance by Scott, a Grammy-nominated singer and producer, following what police and members of the crowd described as an escalation of unruly behavior throughout the day.
As fans in the sold-out audience of about 50,000 pressed toward the stage, people began to fall unconscious, some apparently suffering cardiac arrest or other medical issues, officials told reporters outside the venue.
Minutes later the chaos was declared a âmass casualty incidentâ.
âIt happened all at once. It seemed like it just happened ⦠over the course of just a few minutes,â said Houston Police Executive Assistant Chief Larry Satterwhite, who was at the front of the event when the situation began.
Satterwhite said he immediately met with promoters and they agreed to halt the show. Officials said the concert was brought to an end by 10:10pm.
Travis Scott performs at Day 1 of the Astroworld Music Festival at NRG Park on Friday, Nov. 5, 2021, in Houston [Amy Harris/Invision/AP]Finner said that among the ânarrativesâ under review by police were reports suggesting âsome individual was injecting other people with drugsâ.
One report involved a security officer âwho felt a prick in his neckâ as he was trying to restrain or grab someone and then fell unconscious, only to be revived with a dose of the opioid antidote naloxone, Finner said, citing an account from medical personnel who treated the officer.
Finner said the medical staff also noticed what appeared to be a needle mark on the officerâs neck.
It was not clear whether authorities suspected such an episode played a role in the crowd surge, but Finner said, âweâre going to get down to the bottom of itâ.
Police were awaiting autopsies to determine the causes of death, but said some victims were trampled.
City Fire Chief Samuel Pena said it appeared the venue had ample exit routes for fans and that none was obstructed.
Twenty-five people were taken to hospitals by ambulance after the crush began, some of them in cardiac arrest, with 13 still hospitalised on Saturday â" five under age 18 â" following the discharge of four patients, Mayor Sylvester Turner told reporters.
Eight people died. Most ranged in age from 14 to 27, though one victimâs age was not immediately known, Turner said.
âIt felt like a riotâAfter mobbing entrance gates and merchandise booths early in the day, the crowd grew increasingly unruly as performers took the stage, according to 19-year-old festivalgoer Hamad Al Barrak.
âThere were just too many people,â said Al Barrak, who described chaos as he tried to buy festival gear. âWe were all pressed together. You felt like you couldnât breathe.â
Albert Merza, 43, part of a group of eight people from Detroit attending the festival, recounted seeing âa lot of drinking and crazy behavior.â
âIt felt like a riot,â he said, adding that it appeared about half the crowd were under age 21. âThere were people throwing out stuff, objects flying everywhere.â
Nick Johnson, 17, said he witnessed a steady rise of disruptive behavior before the stampede.
âIt was going on for over two hours, and it just got worse and worse,â he said.
Traffic on Main Street passes by a sign announcing the cancellation of Astroworld on Saturday, November 6, 2021, in Houston [Michael Wyke/ AP]An incident earlier in the day in which fans started ârushingâ the festival gates was brought under control relatively quickly, said Finner, the police chief, adding it appeared unrelated to the deadly stampede. Finner said police had 528 officers assigned to the festival on Friday, along with 755 private security personnel.
Throughout the day, 25 arrests were made â" one each for marijuana possession and public intoxication and the rest for trespassing, Finner said. Three-hundred people were treated at an on-site medical clinic for various injuries and illnesses, including several apparent drug overdoses, according to Pena.
The venue could have held up to 200,000, but organizers limited the crowd to 50,000, based on ticket sales, Pena said.
âAbsolutely devastatedâPena described how the crush of fans quickly overwhelmed the private medical personnel for the festival, a two-day affair that was scheduled to culminate on Saturday, but was canceled after Friday nightâs tragedy.
Videos posted to social media showed pandemonium as fans and staff tried to bring attention to injured concertgoers. One video showed fans attempting to make camera operators aware of the dangerous situation. Another video showed people waving toward the stage and chanting âStop the show!â
The investigation is likely to focus on security and safety protocols. Two weeks ago, another Houston concert was canceled after fans pushed into a Playboi Carti show being held within the same NRG Park complex.
Jennifer Ortega, 22, who arrived at Fridayâs event at about 1pm said access was orderly at that time. But by 4pm the crowd at the smaller of the festivalâs two stages âgot pretty reckless,â with people throwing water bottles. She said she saw about three people leaving the area with bloody noses and missing teeth.
Flowers s are seen outside of the canceled Astroworld festival at NRG Park on November 6, 2021 in Houston, Texas [Alex Bierens de Haan/ Getty Images via AFP]Organizers said they were cooperating with police.
âWe are focused on supporting local officials however we can,â Astroworld Fest, an event organized by Live Nation Entertainment, said on Twitter.
Scott stopped multiple times during his 75-minute performance when he spotted fans in distress and asked security to ensure their safety, video posted online showed. Emergency vehicles, lights and alarms flashing, cut through the audience several times.
âWe need somebody to help. Somebody passed out right here,â Scott said, according to video of his set, which included a guest appearance by Canadian rapper Drake. âSecurity, somebody, jump in here real quick.â
Another video clip showed police performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation on several people even as music blared in the background.
The tragedy harkens back to a 1979 concert by British rock band The Who in which 11 people were killed when fans stampeded into the Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati before the event.
Scott, who came to fame in the early 2010s for his unique vocal style has a daughter with Kylie Jenner from the famed Kardashian family. Astroworld is also the name of his third studio album released in 2018 to critical acclaim.
The rap artist said he was âabsolutely devastatedâ and vowed to support the police as they investigate.â
âMy prayers go out to the families and all those impacted,â Scott wrote on Twitter.
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