Tag: astroworld

On Friday (November 12), attorneys Ben Crump, Alex Hilliard, and John Duffy held a news conference in Houston’s Harris County Civil Courthouse to discuss the several cases filed against Travis Scott and Astroworld.

Crump claimed he is representing over 200 alleged victims, according to ABC13 Houston, who claim they suffered both physically and psychologically as a result of the Astroworld catastrophe, which killed nine people and wounded hundreds more. They’ve already filed 110 cases and expect to file another 90.

“We will make sure that they get justice because this should have never happened,” Crump said. “It is also about making sure Live Nation and anybody else who had anything to do with the failure here that caused people to lose their children. Nobody should ever die from going to a concert. In the future, safety must be paramount.”

Crump and Hilliard’s complaint joins at least 46 others filed in Texas alleging gross negligence. Prior to the altercation on November 5, Hilliard accused Live Nation of engaging in “criminal behavior.”

“We are talking about the largest organizer and promoter of festivals and concerts in the world,” Hilliard said. “And when that happens, a failure of epic proportions on this type of scale, it is criminal.”

Travis Scott has been chastised for continuing to play for 37 minutes while the tragedy unfolded in the 50,000-strong crowd. Uniqua Smith, 32, one of Crump’s clients, spoke during the briefing and described her harrowing experience.

“By the third or fourth song, I tried to make my way out of the crowd,” Smith said. “When I tapped on a woman to ask her to move, I noticed she was also having trouble breathing. The next thing I know, she was having a seizure and hit the ground.”

Crump feels that this was a “preventable” disaster that might have been avoided if security had done its job.

“Had people been focused on crowd control, had people been focused on safety provisions, focused on protocols,” Crump said. “We want the message to be loud and clear to Live Nation and everybody involved. We expect you to do better in the future, and we expect you to do right by everybody who is injured physically or psychologically at the Astroworld Festival.”

Bhari Shahani, 22, was the ninth victim and died on Wednesday (November 10) after being certified brain dead the day before. Mirza Baig, 27, Rodolfo Pea, 23, Madison Dubiski, 23, Franco Patio, 21, Jacob Jurinke, 20, John Hilgert, 14, Axel Acosta Avila, 21, and Brianna Rodriguez, 16, were the additional eight victims named by Harris County on Monday (November 8).

When the Houston Police Department announced that a security officer had been injected with narcotics, the tragedy at Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival on November 5 took on an even darker tone.

Houston Police Chief Troy Finner told reporters the day after the tragic festival crowd surge, which killed eight people and wounded hundreds more, that a member of the event’s security team was pierced in the neck while attempting to control a concert-goer. He eventually passed out.

“[Medical staff] administered Narcan,” Finner said, referencing the prescription medicine used to treat an opioid overdose. “He was revived and the medical staff did notice a prick that was similar to a prick that you would get if someone was trying to inject.”

Houston police have since modified their story. Chief Finner explained that the security guard was hit in the head rather than the neck during a press conference on Wednesday (November 10).

Finner told CBS News that officials had spoken with the security guard, who verified that he was struck in the head and awoke in the medical tent. Finner claimed that no medications were put into him.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Travis Scott’s lawyer, Edwin F. McPherson, released a statement on the ongoing inquiry into the Astroworld killings.

McPherson demanded a halt to “finger-pointing,” accusing municipal officials of sending “inconsistent messages” and “backtracking from original statements.”

He highlighted Troy Finner’s comments in a recent New York Times interview, in which he stated that the police opted not to shut down the event because they were afraid of provoking fan rioting.

“Yet, just a short time later, Chief Finner states the responsibility to stop the show falls on Travis,” McPherson wrote.

He also supported Travis Scott by pointing out that, according to the festival’s Operations Plan, only the festival director and executive producer had the authority to cancel the concert.

McPherson ended his remarks by encouraging officials to stop pointing fingers and focus on the inquiry so that “we can identify exactly what transpired and how we can prevent anything like this from ever happening again.”

As the horrible events transpired during his headline Astroworld show, Travis Scott has come under fire for his conduct.

After emergency workers reported a “mass-casualty incident,” the Cactus Jack rapper was chastised for playing for 37 minutes. Several videos circulating online show him recognizing an ambulance in the audience but continuing his performance.

Other footage from the event, on the other hand, show Travis interrupting his act and requesting security to “jump in” and assist spectators.

Travis Scott said in a video about the Astroworld disaster that he “could never imagine the severity of the situation” while articulating his anguish. In addition, he’ll pay for the funerals of the eight admirers who died, as well as refunding all attendance.

However, this hasn’t stopped the lawsuits from stacking up. More than 68 lawsuits have been filed so far against Travis Scott, Drake (who performed as a special guest during Scott’s set), Live Nation, and festival organizers ScoreMore, with legal experts estimating billion-dollar damages.