On November 5, what was supposed to be a fun festival with rapper Travis Scott, Astroworld, named after his 2018 album, quickly turned into a disaster people would not forget. This is not the first time this has happened at a Travis Scott concert, as he was previously charged twice for inciting crowds at other performances in 2015 and 2017. 

More than 50,000 people were in attendance at the venue. As Scott performed, the crowd pushed against one another, with video footage showing the obvious swaying happening. When swaying starts to happen in a crowd that big, that is when it becomes even more dangerous, with increased chances of injuries. 

As of November 12, nine people have been confirmed that they were killed during the concert. After the concert, it is said that at least 25 people were rushed to the hospital, along with about 300 people treated by medical professionals on site. Scott is now facing at least 30 lawsuits, along with the concert producers and the venue. 

When people were entering the outdoor festival, video footage shows people running past security checkpoints without being checked for vaccination cards or a negative COVID-19 test as an entry. 

After Scott went on stage to perform, fans immediately started to struggle standing on their feet with everyone pushing them around. Scott stopped the concert a couple times when someone said that a person passed out, and continued to perform after indicating that they needed help, even after one time an ambulance arrived. According to the Houston Chronicle, Scott continued to perform for thirty-seven minutes after officials present declared Astroworld to be a “mass casualty.”

Scott’s attorney told the public after the concert ended that he did not know what was happening in the crowd while performing. Scott started to face immediate backlash from the public after the statement was released. People such as Kylie Jenner came to his defense, posting on her Instagram story that he was not aware of anything and would have not continued performing had he known. 

“I thought it was extremely disorganized,” said Pilibos sophomore Sophie Karabetian. “He [Travis Scott] needs to accept and take more responsibility for his actions at the concert as it is clear that it was his fault.” Karabetian, along with many others, agree that Scott’s team needs to do more for the victims affected by the events of the festival. 

Houston police chief, Troy Finner, said that the festival had 530 Houston police officers and 755 more private security officers present at the time of the incident. Despite all the safety measures taken to make sure the crowd would not go out of control, nothing stopped the tragedy.