Travis Scott‘s Astroworld ended in a “mass casualty incident.”
On Friday (Nov. 5), the first day of the annual festival was held at NRG Park in Houston, Texas. During Scott’s headlining performance, a stampede took place. Eight people were confirmed dead and at least 23 people were taken to the hospital including a 10-year-old, police told The Daily Mail. Some of those people were in cardiac arrest. The identities and causes of death have not been confirmed.
Over 300 people were examined by medical staff on-site where they set up a field hospital. The second day of the festival has been canceled and a reunification center has been set up at the local Wyndham Hotel.
In videos shared on social media, people can be heard screaming to Scott asking for him for help. At one point, he did ask security for help to “jump in real quick” but continued his set. One fan managed to climb to the video tower where she is seen begging the camera operator to stop the show and pointed to the stampede. The operator just shooed her off of the platform.
Houston Police Department’s Executive Assistant Chief Larry Satterwhite who was on duty at the event said, “Once we started having the mass casualty incident, they were starting CPR on several people, and it happened all at once.”
Astroworld’s official Facebook account released a statement regarding the event:
“Our hearts are with the Astroworld festival family tonight – especially those we lost and their loved ones. We are focused on supporting local officials however we can, with that in mind the festival will no longer be held on Saturday. As authorities mentioned in their press conference earlier, they are looking into the series of cardiac arrests that took place. If you have any relevant information on this, please reach out to @Houstonpolice. Thank you to our partners at the Houston Police Department, fire department, and NRG park for their response and support.”
Scott’s girlfriend and the mother of their daughter Stormi, Kylie Jenner, was criticized by fans after posting a video of the crowd with an ambulance in it on her Instagram Stories. Her sister Kendall was reportedly also in attendance.
Warning: some videos are graphic.