Hard News

Travis Scott concert turns deadly in Houston

Lily Bierce, Writer | 11/16/2021

50,000 young adults, teens, and children gathered to see the popular hometown rapper Travis Scott., Thousands of people flooded the venue, attempting to find space anywhere they could. As Travis Scott took to the stage at 9Pm, the movement of thousands of bodies became an unstoppable force, trapping and slowly asphyxiating hundreds of concert goers.

Police say the crush began near the stage around 9:15 PM. Many fought for air, others collapsed. The crowd pleaded for the concert to stop, some concertgoers even climbing camera towers to plead with the venue's staff. But the crowd's frantic pleas were ignored. Scott continued to perform for 40 minutes, and ended the event 15-20 minutes ahead of schedule.

“‘Everybody at that event had a responsibility,” Chief of the Houston Fire Department Officer Samuel Peña told NBC “‘From the artist on down.”’

In concert footage, Scott is seen interrupting his performance to ask for help for a fan that passed out. But, in other videos he is heard asking the crowd “Who asked you to stop? Y’all know what y’all came to do.”

"At one point there was an ambulance that was trying to make its way through the crowd." Peña told NBC's Today show. "The artist has command of that crowd."

“The artist, if he notices something was going on, he can certainly pause that performance, turn on the lights and say: ‘Hey, we are not going to continue until this thing is resolved.’ he said.

In the end, 8 victims, between the ages of 14-27, died due to the crush. Hundreds of others were injured, including one 9 year old boy who remains in a medically induced coma.

Following the tragedy, Travis Scott posted a video on his Instagram stating how devastated he was

“My fans really mean the world to me” said Travis. "Any time I could make out anything that's going on, I just stopped the show and helped them get the help they need... I could just never imagine the severity of the situation."

Travis’s wife Kylie Jenner, who was also attending the concert along with their 3 year old daughter. said they didn't know there were fatalities until after the event.

Several lawsuits have been filed against Scott and surprise performer Drake stating that they incited the crowd. Lawsuits have also been filed against the concert producer Live Nation about their inadequate safety measures.