Travis Scott ‘devastated’ after crowd surge kills at least 8 during Astroworld festival
"My prayers go out to the families and all those impacted," Scott said in a statement
Travis Scott said he is “absolutely devastated” after at least eight people died in a violent “crowd surge” during the rapper’s sold-out Astroworld music festival on Friday night in Houston.
“My prayers go out to the families and all those impacted by what happened at Astroworld Festival,” the 29-year-old wrote Saturday morning in a tweet. “Houston PD has my total support as they continue to look into the tragic loss of life.”
“I am committed to working together with the Houston community to heal and support the families in need. Thank you to Houston PD, Fire Department and NRG Park for their immediate response and support,” he added. “Love You All.”
The Associated Press reported droves of the estimated 50,000 crowd members in attendance began storming towards the stage at the NRG Park stadium, “squeezing fans so tightly together that they could not breathe or move their arms,” per witnesses.
“The crowd began to compress towards the front of the stage” at approximately 10:15 p.m. ET, Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peña said during a news conference early Saturday morning, according to NBC News.
“That caused some panic, and it started causing some injuries. People began to fall out, become unconscious, and it created additional panic,” Peña said.
He added that the cause of death remains unknown for the eight deceased individuals.
Officials said 17 people, including 11 who were experiencing cardiac arrest, were hospitalized following the pandemonium and over 300 people received medical treatment at an on-site field hospital during the event Friday.
“It was scary, like, genuinely,” festivalgoer Alleighya Odom told NBC News about experiencing the “continuous force” of the crowd packed tightly around her.
“I started looking around, and there’s people on the ground. There’s people looking at me, like, scared, eyes wild, like, ‘Please help me,'” she told NBC News. “There’s people behind me crying because they’re being stepped on.”
NBC News reported Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said at a news conference there were “a lot of rumors going around” about the original cause for commotion being “people injecting some people with drugs.”
TMZ reported that a source “connected to Astroworld” said the crowd surged toward the stage out of panic after someone at the event “went crazy and began injecting people with some sort of drug” in a “targeted attack” and that one of the victims who died was 10-years-old.
While these reports are unconfirmed, according to TMZ, the source added that authorities suspect those experiencing cardiac arrest may have been the ones injected with the alleged substance.
Regarding the rumors, Finner asked people not to speculate while police “make sure we find out what happened,” according to NBC News. He added that Scott and the festival organizers are cooperating with investigators.
Astroworld Fest officials canceled Saturday’s lineup after the deadly event, shortening what was originally scheduled to be a two-day music festival, according to NBC News.
Scott, real name Jacques Berman Webster II, announced in April that the third edition of the festival, named after the Grammy-winning rapper’s third studio album, would add an extra day of shows, as reported by Rolling Stone.
The original setlist was headlined by Scott and featured guests ranging from hip-hop artists 21 Savage, Roddy Ricch, Master P and Lil Baby to R&B singers SZA and Don Toliver, to legends Earth, Wind & Fire, to alternative favorites Tame Impala and Toro Y Moi.
theGrio’s Matthew Allen contributed to this report.
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