By: Lolo Mhlanga
At least eight people have been killed, and more than 300 were left injured following a stampede at a Travis Scott concert in Huston, Texas.
Two children aged 14 and 16 were among those killed during the chaos that erupted when the rapper took to the stage.
According to videos and law enforcement officials, almost 50,000 people pushed toward the stage while the rapper performed. It’s not known what led to the crowd push.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner told media houses that there were a lot of unanswered questions with regards to the incident.
The police’s Larry Satterwhite told Reuters that the incident happened out of the blue.
“It happened all at once. It seemed like it just happened…over the course of just a few minutes,” Satterwhite was quoted.
The rapper took to social media to address the incident. In a tweet, Scott said: “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’m committed to working together with the Huston community to heal and support families in need. Thank you to Huston PD, Fire Department and NRG Park for their immediate response and support. Love You All.”
Travis Scott takes to his Instagram story to address the tragedy at last night’s Astroworld Festival.
— Pop Base (@PopBase) November 7, 2021
The festival included performances from Drake, Roddy Ricch, Lil Baby, 21 Savage and Young Thug, to mention a few. Roddy Ricch, who performed on Friday, announced that he would donate his net payment from the festival to the families of those who passed away. He posted on Instagram: “Please have the families of those who we lost yesterday reach out to @shawnholiday. I’ll be donating my net compensation to the families of this incident. #Pray4Houston”
The New York Times reported that the incident appeared to be one of the deadliest crowd-control disasters at a concert in the United States in many years. The publication recalled the 1979 incident at a show by the Who in Cincinnati that left 11 people dead.
According to the publication, In 2010, 21 people died in a crush at an electronic dance music festival in Germany. Ten years earlier, nine people were killed at a Pearl Jam concert in Denmark. There also have been tragedies at concerts involving fires or shootings, including the 2003 nightclub fire at a heavy metal concert in Rhode Island in which 100 people died.
People were chanting Help Help travis scott help but he’s smiling #ASTROWORLDFest #AstroWorld
— q (@thelostinterest) November 7, 2021
Imagine you’re dying and Travis Scott is standing on a pole doing the robot (real) pic.twitter.com/2fBGzDi7EQ
— Grasshole🌿 (@MyGrasshole) November 7, 2021
