‘Astroworld Music Festival’ turns into a mass casualty on Nov. 5

50,000 people gathered on Nov. 5, to attend Travis Scott’s Astroworld Music Festival and as the crowd inched closer to the stage during a crowd surge, eight attendees lost their lives and hundreds were injured before the set ended. 

Attendees have taken to TikTok to describe what it was like to be in the crowd, many recalling not being able to move or breathe. Videos are being circulated showing patrons passed out in the crowd being crowd-surfed out of the pit, and of attendees telling the cameramen that people were dead, begging them to stop the concert, but the concert continued. 

Before the concert even began, footage of what appears to be people getting through security surfaced, with Scott encouraging people who didn’t buy tickets to sneak into the festival. The videos also depict people trampling over one another at the entrance before Scott even took the stage. 

In order to obtain the best spot in the pit for Scott’s set, many concertgoers partook in rushing — the act of trying to push your way through to the front of the stage — before and during the concert. 

The onset of rushing may have been caused by the countdown Scott started around 8:30 p.m., according to one fan. Surveillance footage is being looked at to see if Scott could have enticed or encouraged this rushing, similar to what happened with former President Donald Trump and the insurrection of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. 

Houston police chiefs on the scene of NRG Park, where Astroworld Festival was located, were there after the concert to speak with different news outlets and promised a thorough investigation of the deaths.

While Scott was on stage, there is photo and video footage of him performing as a flashing ambulance tried to make its way through the crowd but was blocked by the audience. There is footage of the ambulance being used as a prop, with two individuals on top of the vehicle dancing. 

As people were passing out, the EMTs on site had trouble locating people and getting to them in a timely manner. Accounts from those in attendance claim the environment was too densely packed for anyone’s safety.  

There is speculation surrounding the use of narcotics as a cause of death, after a security guard was injected with a syringe by a concertgoer and was given Narcan to save his life. Further speculation surrounding prolonged heat exposure as a cause of death has also been circulating.

Scott is not shy in promoting this type of rowdy behavior. Back in 2017, when the rapper performed at Lollapalooza, he was sued for encouraging fans to jump into a crowd of people, destroying gates.  

Criticisms and outcries have been directed at Scott and Drake, an artist who also made an appearance at the festival, for not ending the concert sooner, and for their overall lack of regard for the safety of their fans.  

Concertgoers were rushed out of the venue after the concert ended. Many are returning back to the site to either pick up their belongings that were left at the concert, or to pay their respects and offer condolences to those who lost their lives. 

Flowers have been left outside of NRG Park for those who lost their lives and a prayer vigil is being held nearby on Nov. 7, at 7 p.m. 

The eight victims who lost their lives at Astroworld are Brianna Rodriguez, 16, John Hilgert, 14, Rudy Peña, 23, Danish Baig, 27, Axel Acosta, 21, Franco Patino, 21, and Jake Jurinek, 20.