Astroworld Festival Leaves At Least 8 Dead

Astroworld Festival Leaves At Least 8 Dead

Kylie McAllister, Editor-in-Chief

Famous rapper Travis Scott has been blamed for 8 deaths at 2021 Astroworld Festival. The festival was a two day event from November 5th to the 6th in Houston, Texas with a lineup of famous performers including; SZA, Bad Bunny, Don Toliver, and Lil Baby.

The day started badly when hundreds of people rushed the VIP Entrance and ignored security to get access to the festival. Headliner Travis Scott was set to preform at 9 p.m. and witnesses say about 30 minutes before his set everyone began packing in and many reported this was the start of peoples decline. Reports say they were so tightly packed concert goers were having trouble breathing. Once the concert began the crowd of 50,000 people began surging forward and packing in as close as they could to the stage.

50,000 people crowd the stage at NRG Park. (Click2Houston)

Around half a hour after 9 p.m., when Scott had started his set, officials report people losing consciousness. At this time is when officials began calling in help and at 9:38 they declared it a “mass casualty event.”

According to CNN, witnesses describe calling out for help but their cries being lost in the music. Scott stopped the concert briefly a few times to ask for help for few in the crowd but despite this hundreds of people report not getting the help they needed and some have said that once help did arrive, many medics on scene were not trained for the treatment of those we needed it.

The concert and event finally came to close at roughly 10:13 or 10:14 p.m. a concertgoer told CNN. This hour performance has left a confirmed 8 dead and over 300 people have been treated by a nearby field hospital. Last reports show the youngest treated was a 10 year old who was in critical condition. Thirteen people remained in the hospital till Sunday and details on their condition have yet to be released.

7 out of the 8 people confirmed dead have been identified and the youngest was 14 year old John Hilgert who was a freshman at Memorial High School in Houston. Others include 16 year old Brianna Rodriguez who was a junior at Heights High School, Axel Acosta who was 21 year olds, 27 year old Danish Baig, Franco Patiño who was 21 years old, Jacob “Jake” Jurinek, and 23 year old Ruby Peña.

Brianna Rodriguez, described as passionate and vibrant was one of the confirmed 8 dead.

At least one confirmed lawsuit has been filed against Travis Scott and the organizers of 2021 Astroworld Festical. Manuel Souza has filed at least a $1 million lawsuit in damages against Travis Scott and Live Nation. A second lawsuit has been filed by Kristian Paredes against Travis Scott, Live Nation, and rapper Drake who appeared alongside Scott during the performance.

On November 6th, a day after the tragedies, Scott posted a statement to his Twitter saying he was “absolutely devastated” and went on to thank the Houston Police Department and emergency responders who helped. He made no comment on the lawsuits nor if he plans to provide assistance to the families and loved ones of those who died. The next day he uploaded a video to his Instagram where he explained did not know the “severity of the situation.” His girlfriend, Kylie Jenner, who was in attendance of the concert, released a statement on her Instagram as well and she explained that he did not know that there were deaths of injuries and said that they are “broken and devastated.”