A Texas grand jury has found rapper Travis Scott not criminally responsible for the crowd crush that left 10 people dead and thousands more injured during his Astroworld 2021 music festival, authorities announced Thursday.
The Harris County grand jury has considered and thrown out criminal charges against Scott and five other people related to the deaths of the fans, District Attorney Kim Ogg said at an evening news conference.
Ten people were killed in the November 5, 2021 tragedy at Houston’s NRG Park, including 9-year-old Ezra Blount, as a crowd of about 50,000 began pushing onto the stage. The other victims were between the ages of 14 and 27. All died from compression asphyxia.
Nearly 2,400 people required medical treatment after the deadly surge in the crowd.
Scott’s attorney, Kent Schaffer, said the rapper and his action have been portrayed incorrectly, adding that Scott stopped the show three times and was unaware of events as they unfolded.
«Today’s decision by the Harris County District Attorney confirms what we have known all along: that Travis Scott is not responsible for the AstroWorld tragedy,» Schaffer said in a statement following the decision. «This is consistent with investigative reports from numerous news outlets and federal and state government reports that have placed the responsibility for event safety crises squarely on organizers, operators and contractors, not performers.»
After the festival, which Scott hosted, he said in a video that he could not have imagined the «gravity of the situation» at the Houston concert.
«Honestly, I’m devastated,» Scott said on Instagram.
the later I talk to radio host Charlamagne Tha God, saying that he had initially realized the scale of the problem at the festival.
“At the end of the day, these fans are like family, so you feel like you just lost something. You do these shows, honestly, so that people have the best experience, ”he told the host.
Hundreds of lawsuits have been filed against Scott and the concert organizer, Live Nation, accusing them of negligence. Scott issued a «blanket denial» of the claims in 2021 and asked for multiple lawsuits to be dismissed.