Travis Scott's Astroworld Fest Turns To Tragedy As At Least 8 Perish, 300 Injured During Crowd Surge; Scott And Drake Now The Focus Of Legal Action

Travis Scott (Photo: hurricanehank / Shutterstock.com)

In case you missed the sad news from this past weekend (NET NEWS 11/06), at least eight attendees and over 300 fans were injured on FRIDAY (11/05) during the set featuring TRAVIS SCOTT at ASTROWORLD FEST in HOUSTON. Around 50,000 people were in attendance at the annual event at NRG PARK, hosted by HOUSTON native SCOTT. The festival, in its third year, kicked off FRIDAY and was expected to be a two-day event, but officials cancelled SATURDAY's lineup due to the tragedy.

According to BILLBOARD, the first lawsuit has already been filed by an injured attendee, MANUEL SOUZA, naming SCOTT, organizer SCOREMORE and LIVE NATION as defendants. 

"I’m absolutely devastated by what took place last night. My prayers go out to the families and all those impacted by what happened ..." Travis Scott

Another lawsuit has been filed against SCOTT and DRAKE, who performed with SCOTT, according to THE DAILY MAIL and FOX NEWS. This suit by KRISTIAN PAREDES, 23, from AUSTIN, filed the complaint obtained by DAILYMAIL.COM accusing the rappers, LIVE NATION ENTERTAINMENT INC. and HARRIS COUNTY SPORTS AND CONVENTION CORPORATION of negligence. 

According to this new complaint, special guest DRAKE "came on stage alongside TRAVIS SCOTT and helped incite the crowd."

And, noted civil rights attorney BENJAMIN CRUMP has announced that he has filed on behalf of survivor NOAH GUTIERREZ and expects to file on behalf of others soon.

VARIETY has reported that SCOTT will not perform at this weekend’s DAY N VEGAS FESTIVAL at the LAS VEGAS FESTIVAL GROUNDS was scheduled for SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 13, less than a week after ASTROWORLD, as he's “too distraught to play." 

MSN reports that TRAVIS SCOTT has offered to cover funeral costs for the eight killed at FRIDAY's ASTROWORLD FESTIVAL. SCOTT is also working with NAMI (NATIONAL ALLIANCE ON MENTAL ILLNESS), MHA (MENTAL HEALTH AMERICA) NATIONAL, and MHA of GREATER HOUSTON to direct anyone in need of proper mental health services. See more here. 

HOUSTON Fire Chief SAMUEL PEÑA said, "The events unfolded FRIDAY at around 9:15p (CT) when the crowd began to compress toward the front of the stage. That caused some panic, and it started causing some injuries. People began to fall out, become unconscious, and it created additional panic." He added that the cause of death was not yet known for the eight victims but would be determined.

TRAVIS SCOTT said in a TWEET, "I’m absolutely devastated by what took place last night. 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. I am committed to working together with the HOUSTON community to heal and support the families in need."

He later added, "We're actually working right now to identify the families so we can help assist them through this tough time."

According to the NY POST, “At least one person at the concert was injected with something by an unknown, ‘needle’ wielding assailant, and had to be revived with Narcan -- a drug used to treat narcotic overdoses, HOUSTON’s police chief said SATURDAY.

“Chief TROY FINNER said the investigation into the mayhem at the ASTROWORLD concert that also saw 300 injured ‘is now a criminal investigation that is going to involve our homicide division as well as narcotics.’”

See additional coverage from CNN and NBC NEWS.

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