8 dead, 25 hospitalized after chaos at Astroworld festival in Houston
8 dead, 25 hospitalized after chaos at rapper Travis Scott's Astroworld festival in Houston
The second day of rapper Travis Scott’s Astroworld music festival in Houston, Texas has been canceled, after chaos on the first night killed at least eight people. During the festival over 300 people were treated for injuries at a field hospital. But that facility was quickly overwhelmed, and hundreds of first responders were dispatched to the scene.
(FOX 9) - The second day of rapper Travis Scott’s Astroworld music festival in Houston has been canceled after chaos on the first night killed at least eight people.
Now, law enforcement says their focus is on identifying the victims and supporting their families, while a full investigation gets underway.
"Nobody could dream of this, but we’re here," Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said overnight.
There were more than 50,000 people packed into NRG Park on Friday night for day one of the event, when law enforcement says things took a turn for the worse just after 9 p.m. According to authorities, the crowd began to rush towards the front of the stage, crushing many people.
"What caused the surge, we don’t know, but we will find out," Finner said.
The surge created an immediate panic on the ground, and it left behind much worse in its aftermath.
"It just got worse and worse, you just can't breathe," concertgoer Nick Johnson told local reporters. "[It] feel like there's a weighted blanket on you pretty much."
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"This was the most horrific thing I’ve ever seen in my life. People were getting trampled, I saw people’s head stomped in, I saw people getting their ribs broken," concertgoer Madeline Eskins said. "I was about to tell my boyfriend to tell my son that I love him because I truly thought that I was going to die."
Concertgoer JD Moreno described it as a riot during a poorly mishandled event; and widely shared video on social media shows fans screaming at Scott to "shut it down," but the concert continued. It’s not clear if Scott knew what was happening.
"There was people all over," Moreno said. "I’m pretty sure I carried a dead guy yesterday."
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During the festival over 300 people were treated for injuries at a field hospital. But that facility was quickly overwhelmed, and hundreds of first responders were dispatched to the scene.
"Trying to secure what was really a chaotic event," Houston Fire Chief Sam Pena explained. Pena is describing the night as a mass casualty event; sending at least 25 people to the hospital.
"Some of them as young as 10 [years old]," Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo added. 11 of those hospitalized were in cardiac arrest at the time., and at least eight people have died as of Saturday. Those who died ranged in age from 14 to 27 years old.
"Pray for these families," Finner finished. "I think that’s very important."
Early on Saturday, Travis Scott sent this message out on his Twitter page: