Travis Scott has issued a statement in the wake of the tragedy at his Astroworld festival in Houston, which left eight people dead on Friday night.
“I’m absolutely devastated by what took place last night,” he wrote on social media. “My prayers go out to the families and all those impacted by what happened at Astroworld Festival.”
“Houston PD has my total support as they continue to look into the tragic loss of life,” Scott continued. “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. Love You All.”
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— TRAVIS SCOTT (@trvisXX) November 6, 2021
50,000 fans attended the show, which led to a surge during Scott’s performance at the festival outside NRG Park, theHouston Chronicle reports. At a press conference following the concert, Houston fire chief Samuel Peña clarified the timeline. He said that the crowd began surging forward at 9 p.m., as there was panic involving people running for safety. At that point, Scott paused his set several times to ask security to help out fans, and members of the fire department were sent into the dense crowd to rescue the injured.
An eyewitness,PvNewstaffer Emanuel Okusanya, said that fans began moving en masse toward Scott’s stage, one of two on the stadium grounds, at least two hours before his performance was scheduled to begin. As his set time approached, a countdown clock began counting down, which caused the already-boisterous crowd to surge toward the stage. once the set began, multiple mosh pits broke out and people began falling, causing a “domino effect,” Okusanya said. People began pushing to get out of the overcrowded area, but virtually the entire stadium floor was packed with people. Additionally, “around 250 people” had been crowded just outside the entrance earlier in the evening and may have contributed to a bottleneck at the exits, he said.
“People were rushing to get out, it was hard to find security — it was bad,” he said.
