TX - 10 deceased as a result of crowd surge at Astroworld festival, Houston, 5 Nov 2021

[Luna20]

“A prominent elected official in Houston, Tx. is calling for an independent investigation to take place regarding the deaths at Travis Scott's Astroworld Festival on Nov. 5.

County Judge Lina Hidalgo, Harris County’s top elected official, previously took to Twitter to call for an independent investigation to happen outside of what the Houston Police Department is already doing. The Associated Press notes that Hidalgo does not have control over the police investigation but it is within her power to call for an independent one. Hidalgo hasn't decided who would conduct such an independent review or how it would be done, a spokesperson told The Associated Press Monday”

Astroworld Festival independent investigation being explored by Houston elected judge: LIVE UPDATES

 

[Hope32]

From this article the girl who went viral with the camera man explained her story.
Viral Instagram post vividly details chaos at Astroworld: 'These sinkholes of people'

Seems that even through they weren't aware of the procedures in the safety plan. It sounds absolutely frightening. She describes two people who went in and "found nothing" wrong, but the next two found something.

 

[happyday]

Astroworld disaster fuels wave of satanic conspiracy theories on TikTok
''Videos of the Astroworld crowd crush that killed eight people flooded TikTok over the weekend. But conspiracy theories have also flourished alongside the graphic footage, accusing the rapper Travis Scott, who founded and performed at the festival, of orchestrating a massive satanic ritual.

“This ain’t a festival, it’s a sacrifice,” reads one typical comment. “The music industry is demonic and collects souls,” reads another comment with 34,000 likes.

Despite its absurdity, the theory has steadily gained traction – with phrases such as “astroworld demonic”, “astroworld illuminati” and “astroworld upside down cross” trending among other AstroWorld content on the platform.

Experts say the viral misinformation illustrates how young social media users are increasingly susceptible to fringe conspiracy theories, despite their reputation as savvy “digital natives”.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/security-astroworld-1.6242029
''Evan Pond, of Simcoe, Ont., said he travelled by himself to Texas last Wednesday to attend the sold-out concert at NRG Park. The 16-year-old had arranged to meet two friends there to see rapper Scott and others perform.

"Security wasn't doing much to begin with throughout the whole day," Pond told CBC Radio's Metro Morning. "A lot of people I talked to after the show, we all feel that they could have done a lot more."

"In some parts of the crowd, you would have people passing out, left, right. You would see people stacked up, on the floor, passed out. There's people coughing up blood, there's people puking. There are medic vans trying to get through. There's people jumping on them. It was crazy," Pond said of the scene.

When Toronto rapper Drake came on stage for a surprise performance, Pond said he was pushed down onto the ground for one or two songs. He said he found it hard to breathe, but was not injured. He was eventually able to get back up.

"I thought I was going to die; I can't lie to you. Yeah, it was really hard to breathe and It was really scary. I don't usually cry, but I was full-on crying like crazy," Pond said.''

"When you're paying for your ticket, you're paying to be protected. As well as the performance and everything, you're paying for your health and security," he said. "Personally, I felt like it was understaffed."

Thanks for posting this! I wanted to say something the other day but there wasn’t anything MSM so that we could talk about it. My 18 year old daughter told me this is ALL OVER the internet and that people have been saying this was a human sacrifice. They’ve been saying for a while now that this has been TS’s goal all along and that his inciting the chaos in his concerts and then letting it happen is a planned sacrifice. Wild stuff.

 

[PrairieWind]

Question:

Can a defense be made for people knowing about his concert behavior and former arrest but still chose to attend?

A defense by whom? The Travis Scott people, or the venue operators? Sure, either could raise the defense, but I think it would be of very very little value. The Travis Scott people would have to face the fact that they are the ones inciting the behavior. The venue operators could try to say, "hey these people knew what happens at these concerts." But the concert goers would say that the venue operators also knew fully well what sort of behavior was expected. They were in the best position to plan and protect, and failed. So while the defense could be raises, it would likely be ineffective.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

9-year-old Astroworld crush survivor in medically induced coma (nbcnews.com)

"The doctor the first day told us that he wasn't expected to make it after the day, but it's how many days after, so I know he's fighting in there," Taylor Blount said of her nephew, Ezra Blount.

The aunt of a 9-year-old boy who was injured at Friday's Astroworld music festival tragedy in Houston and left in a medically induced coma is speaking out, calling the packed concert “a death trap.”

Ezra Blount was on his father’s shoulders at the concert. When concertgoers began to crush into each other, Treston Blount passed out and his son fell. When he woke up, Ezra was nowhere to be found.

“The crowd just started going crazy and Treston goes, ‘I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe,’” Ezra’s aunt, Taylor Blount, said in an interview that aired Tuesday on NBC's “TODAY” show.

The family frantically called around to local hospitals before he was finally located at Texas Children’s Hospital...

 

[Arkay]

From this article the girl who went viral with the camera man explained her story.
Viral Instagram post vividly details chaos at Astroworld: 'These sinkholes of people'

Seems that even through they weren't aware of the procedures in the safety plan. It sounds absolutely frightening. She describes two people who went in and "found nothing" wrong, but the next two found something.

I appreciate your posting this. This is the woman with braids who climbed a platform and was screaming at the cameraman that people were dead? I’ve been wondering about her.

IMO she deserves a medal or something. It took guts to do what she did, and if anyone had listened it may have saved some. I recognize that the cameraman has a job to do and is not a safety officer, but c’mon, there must have been something. I’d bet that if his camera had cut out he’d have a way to alert someone. JMO

Conversely, I think the people who climbed atop the ambulances should be arrested. There was already no path for the ambulances to get through, and having people on the roof impeded their progress even more.

I can’t find the link but I believe it was in Texas Monthly. It described some European standards for this type of situation. One improvement is that there is a safety manager who only has to press one button, and immediately the sound is cut and the lights go on. This halts the concert and illuminates the crowd so first responders can rescue people.

ETA found the link
After the Astroworld Disaster, a Reckoning for Music Festivals

 

[Lexiintoronto]

Drake breaks silence on ‘devastating tragedy’ at Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival

“I hate resorting to this platform to express an emotion as delicate as grief, but this is where I find myself,” he wrote in a social media statement Monday night.

“My heart is broken for the families and friends of those who lost their lives and for anyone who is suffering. I will continue to pray for all of them, and will be of service in anyway I can. May God be with you and bless you all.”

The Grammy-winning rapper took to the stage alongside 30-year-old Scott at NRG park in Houston on Friday as a surprise guest for the multi-day music festival. Authorities said fans started to surge toward the stage a short time later around 9:15 p.m., causing widespread panic among the crowd of 50,000 people.

I don’t know what Drake knew, but his appearance is a key factor in this.

Drake was brought on stage at 10:00pm as a surprise guest. That’s about 30 minutes after that ambulance was driving through the crowd, and after Travis was aware there were issues serious enough for him to be asked to stop the show. (9:38 the police declared it a mass casualty event.)

One excuse being floated out is that if he had stopped the show, the dangerous crowd issues would have intensified.

Bringing Drake out negates that claim, imo. The crowd wasn’t expecting him. Bringing him out only intensified the issues and may have caused a further crowd wave forward. my view only.

Timeline information: Astroworld timeline: How tragedy unfolded at Travis Scott concert | wfaa.com

 

[Herat]

Drake breaks silence on ‘devastating tragedy’ at Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival

“I hate resorting to this platform to express an emotion as delicate as grief, but this is where I find myself,” he wrote in a social media statement Monday night.

“My heart is broken for the families and friends of those who lost their lives and for anyone who is suffering. I will continue to pray for all of them, and will be of service in anyway I can. May God be with you and bless you all.”

The Grammy-winning rapper took to the stage alongside 30-year-old Scott at NRG park in Houston on Friday as a surprise guest for the multi-day music festival. Authorities said fans started to surge toward the stage a short time later around 9:15 p.m., causing widespread panic among the crowd of 50,000 people.

Drake had a pretty clean reputation, far better than TS's prior to all this. He certainly didn't need the exposure or the money for appearing for what should have been a quick 15-minute set.

Now he is smeared with the same shame for associating with him and will have to answer to the many lawsuits to follow. This will take years to be investigated, litigated, and settled.

I hope this is a warning to other artists about who and what kind of entertainment productions you allow yourself to participate with.

 

[Herat]

It described some European standards for this type of situation. One improvement is that there is a safety manager who only has to press one button, and immediately the sound is cut and the lights go on. This halts the concert and illuminates the crowd so first responders can rescue people.

ETA found the link
After the Astroworld Disaster, a Reckoning for Music Festivals

Seems to me this is exactly the kind of safety precaution that needs to be in force.

That, and maintaining a proper security entrance system, keeping young children, under a certain age, like maybe 16, out of a facility where alcohol is sold, and not booking acts that will not stand up for safety.

 

[Luna20]

A defense by whom? The Travis Scott people, or the venue operators? Sure, either could raise the defense, but I think it would be of very very little value. The Travis Scott people would have to face the fact that they are the ones inciting the behavior. The venue operators could try to say, "hey these people knew what happens at these concerts." But the concert goers would say that the venue operators also knew fully well what sort of behavior was expected. They were in the best position to plan and protect, and failed. So while the defense could be raises, it would likely be ineffective.

I was asking about either/or. Your point on the origin of the incitement resonates because even though people may know about the type of atmosphere TS creates it still doesn’t mean that death is expected or tolerated.

Thanks for elaborating.

 

[CSIDreamer]

I appreciate your posting this. This is the woman with braids who climbed a platform and was screaming at the cameraman that people were dead? I’ve been wondering about her.

IMO she deserves a medal or something. It took guts to do what she did, and if anyone had listened it may have saved some. I recognize that the cameraman has a job to do and is not a safety officer, but c’mon, there must have been something. I’d bet that if his camera had cut out he’d have a way to alert someone. JMO

Conversely, I think the people who climbed atop the ambulances should be arrested. There was already no path for the ambulances to get through, and having people on the roof impeded their progress even more.

I can’t find the link but I believe it was in Texas Monthly. It described some European standards for this type of situation. One improvement is that there is a safety manager who only has to press one button, and immediately the sound is cut and the lights go on. This halts the concert and illuminates the crowd so first responders can rescue people.

ETA found the link
After the Astroworld Disaster, a Reckoning for Music Festivals

I been wondering why no one just flipped the switch on them.

 

[PrairieWind]

I was asking about either/or. Your point on the origin of the incitement resonates because even though people may know about the type of atmosphere TS creates it still doesn’t mean that death is expected or tolerated.

Thanks for elaborating.

A defendant could raise the issue in an effort to put a percentage of fault for a concert-goers injuries on the concert goer, under a comparative fault defense. But I doubt a jury would give too much of percentage of fault. But who knows.

 

[Luna20]

“Pena’s comments on "Today" echo those he previously made to The New York Times. In an interview with the outlet, he was quoted as saying that it is his opinion that Scott should have paused the show as soon as it became clear ambulances were responding to the scene.


"The one person who can really call for and get a tactical pause when something goes wrong is that performer. They have that bully pulpit and they have a responsibility," he told the outlet Sunday. "If somebody would have said, ‘Hey, shut this thing down and turn on the lights until this thing gets corrected’ — and that coming from the person with the mic — I think could have been very helpful."



Travis Scott should have paused Astroworld Festival performance, Houston fire chief says

 

[CrimeAway]

Astroworld security guard says he BAILED on night of concert because venue 'severely understaffed' | Daily Mail Online

 

[tamsidea]

The plan instructs staff to "notify Event Control of a suspected deceased victim utilizing the code ‘Smurf’." It goes on to say, "never use the term ‘dead’ or ‘deceased’ over the radio." It’s not clear whether the protocol was followed.

This was one of my questions- how would an emergency be communicated effectively? It will be interesting to find out whether protocol was followed or not.

 

[CrimeAway]

Lawyers for Astroworld victims speak:

 

[CocoChanel]

Texas A&M student brain dead after being injured during Astroworld Festival, family says

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A 22-year old Texas A&M University senior has been declared brain dead after she was injured during Friday's disaster at the Astroworld Festival, her family said Tuesday.

More horror…..more pain….more indescribable loss.
How in the world could we have let this happen?

 

[CrimeAway]

Interview with the young man who tried to get the camera operator's attention as to what was happening in the crowd:

 

[CrimeAway]

Texas A&M student brain dead after being injured during Astroworld Festival, family says



More horror…..more pain….more indescribable loss.
How in the world could we have let this happen?

This was my fear when I heard of her condition. I worry for the 9 year old too.

Even if someone can regain consciousness after hypoxic brain injury, they may suffer lifelong disability, and be completely dependent on others for even basic tasks. So tragic. All JMO.

 

[CrimeAway]

Astroworld Festival Timeline (live) from KHOU 11 (Houston)