Saturday’s event is canceled

Travis Scott cut his Astroworld Festival headlining set short following a stampede of people that left eight dead and several others injured Friday night (Nov 5th). Panic erupted as the crowd stormed towards the stage, forcing emergency personnel to intervene multiple times.

“The crowd began to compress toward the front of the stage, and that caused some panic, and it started causing some injuries,” Houston Fire Chief Samuel Pena says during a Friday night press conference. “People began to fall out, become unconscious, and it created additional panic.”

Eyewitnesses report that Scott had stopped the show several times due to the chaos, even requesting security’s assistance making sure those in the front weren’t distressed. He even signaled for security to assist a specific individual.

The show was canceled after injuries began to be reported. Seventeen people were transported to the hospital, including 11 with cardiac arrest. Many others were treated at NRG Field after a field hospital had been set up.

More than 50,000 people were in attendance with another 50,000 expected for Saturday, which has now been canceled.

“Our hearts are with the Astroworld Festival family tonight — especially those we lost and their loved ones,” event organizers share on social media.

“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 the Houston Police.

“Thank you to our partners at the Houston Police Department, Fire Department and NRG Park for their response and support.”

On Saturday, Scott, who curated the event, released his own statement via social media.

“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,” he shares. “Houston PD has my total support as they continue to look into the tragic loss of life. I am committed to working together with the Houston community to heal and support the families in need. Thank you to Houston PD, Fire Department and NRG Park for their immediate response and support.”

The cause of deaths have not been immediately identified nor had the deceased, but TMZ reports an attendee “went crazy and began injecting people with some sort of drug,” which is unconfirmed as of this writing.

“I think it’s very important that none of us speculate. Nobody has all the answers tonight,” Houston Police Chief Troy Finner says regarding rumors surrounding the deaths. “We’re going to do an investigation and find out because it’s not fair to the producers, to anybody else involved, until we determine what happened, what caused the surge,” he said. “We don’t know, but we will find out.”

A medical examiner will investigate.

Astroworld was expanded to two days this year following overwhelming fan demand. Over 100,000 fans from across the globe were slated to attend the third-year music festival returning to Scott’s hometown of Houston. The 2021 event sold out in under one hour without a music performance lineup attached. 21 Savage, Baby Keem, Bad Bunny, BIA, Chief Keen, Don Toliver, Earth Wind & Fire, were among the weekend headliners with Drake making a surprise appearance during Scott’s set.

Friday’s event was being livestreamed in 167 countries and regions to Apple Music users.

In an update Saturday, Houston police are investigating cases of drug injections that may have led to some of the deaths. Finner says a security officer felt a prick in the neck before losing consciousness. He was revived as medical staff administered Narcan. They also noticed a needle size mark in his neck.

The spiking seems to have been a targeted attack towards innocent attendees including children. Twenty-five people were taken to the hospital where 13 remain, including five under the age of 18. However, it has also been confirmed people were trampled with autopsies underway to determine the causes of death.

Live Nation is sending the footage at the site to Houston police which will be investigated.