By Fernando Alfonso III, CNN
Updated 2:32 PM EST, Sun November 7, 2021
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See the moment Travis Scott pauses Astroworld show after spotting ambulance
01:03 - Source: CNN
What we're covering here
- At least eight people are dead and many others were injured aftera crowd surged forwardas rapper Travis Scott was on stage at the Astroworld Festival in Houston on Friday night, officials said.
- About 50,000 people were at the sold-out outdoor music festival at NRG Park, the stadium complex where the Astrodome and the NRG Stadium stand.
- More than 300 people were treated at a field hospital set up near the festival, an official said.
Our live coverage of the festival disaster has ended. Read more here.
18 Posts
Here's what we know about the tragedy at the Astroworld Festival in Houston
From CNN's Andy Rose, Aya Elamroussi and Jason Hanna
At least eight people are dead and many others injured aftera crowd surged forward toward a stage at the Astroworld Festival in Houston on Friday night.
Here’s what we know:
- Crowd surge: At least eight people are dead and many others were injured aftera crowd surged forwardas rapper Travis Scott was on stage at the festival on Friday night, officials said. The event’s live stream showed Scott pause his performance to look on in confusion as an ambulance with lights flashing pulled into the venue. The festival ended at 10:10 p.m. local time, Mayor Sylvester Turner said during a news conference Saturday.
- “Scores” injured: “We had scores of individuals that were injured,” Houston Fire Chief Sam Peña during a news conference early Saturday morning. About 50,000 people were at the sold-out outdoor music festival at NRG Park — the stadium complex where the Astrodome and the NRG Stadium stand — when the incident happened just after 9 p.m. CT, officials said. “The crowd for whatever reason began to push and surge towards the front of the stage, which caused the people in the front to be compressed — they were unable to escape that situation,” Peña told CNN Saturday morning.
- Concert-goers share their stories: Numerous people in attendance for Scott’s performance have shared their experiences. MadelineEskins is an intensive care unit nurse who detailed thetraumatic experience on Instagram. “So right when he started performing his first song, I looked at my boyfriend and said, ‘We have to get out of here.’ He said, ‘I can’t. We can’t.’ We couldn’t. And then I just remember looking up and passing out,” Eskins said. “And then I was in and out for a little while. I didn’t see anything, but I could kind of feel what was going on. Someone pulled me over a fence and I was sat in a chair, and then I passed out again. And when I woke up, I was in a different area in a chair with a water bottle in my lap.” Fellow attendee Sarai Sierra said the festival experience was like “drowning in a pool filled of just people.”
- Scott releases a statement: “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,” Scott tweeted. “Houston PD has my total support as they continue to look into the tragic loss of life.”
- Investigation ensues: Investigators will review video from the scene and look at how the venue was laid out and whether it had enough exit points, Peña said. The investigation will explore “what caused, one, the issue of the crowd surge, and two, what prevented people from being able to escape that situation,” Peña said. The causes of deaths are pending the medical examiner’s determination, he said. Officials have canceled the second night of the concert Saturday.
- Security officer fell unconscious: Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said one security officer said he was stuck in the neck Friday night during Astroworld when trying to restrain a concert-goer. “We do have a report of a security officer, according to the medical staff that was out and treated him last night, that he was reaching over to restrain or grab a citizen and he felt a prick in his neck. When he was examined, he went unconscious, they administered Narcan,” Finner said during a news conference Saturday. “He was revived and the medical staff did notice a prick similar to what you would get if somebody was trying to inject. That is one part of it.” There were “severalinstances where they didadminister Narcan on scene,” Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peñasaid when asked if medical personnel at the festival administered Narcan, a “save shot” or a “rescue shot” because of its ability to bring someone back from an overdose.
- Condolences shared: Turner expressed his condolences to the families of those that died and were injured at the festival in a tweet early Saturday morning. “The city of Houston extends our condolences to the loved ones of 8 people killed & several injured at #ASTROWORLDFest. Organizers held the event to bring people together for music, but it sadly ended in tragedy. Thanks to police, fire & other agencies that responded to assist,” the tweet said.
- Past issues: In 2019,three people were trampledand hospitalized as thousands rushed to get into the festival. The event, now in its third year, is organized by Scott, a Houston native. It had been scheduled to run from Friday through Saturday, according to theevent’s website.
A security officer at Astroworld Festival received Narcan after falling unconscious, police chief says
Houston Police Chief Troy Finner speaks during a press conference in Houston on November 6.
Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said one security officer said he was stuck in the neck Friday night during Astroworld when trying to restrain a concert-goer.
The drug naloxone is sometimes called a “save shot” or a “rescue shot” because of its ability to bring someone back from an overdose. Brand names for naloxone are Narcan and Evzio. It has long been used in hospitals and by emergency medical technicians.
Houston mayor says investigation into "what went wrong" at Astroworld Festival is ongoing
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner speaks during a press conference in Houston on November 6.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said the investigation into the incident Friday night at the Astroworld Festival that claimed eight lives is ongoing and nothing like this has happened at a special event in the city over the last 40 years.
The ages of seven of the eight victims ranged from 14 to 27, Turner said. One of the victim’s ages was not yet known. Six of the eight family membershave been notified, the mayor added.
Based on the information the citycurrently has, no one isreported missing, Turner added.
“Let me just say as it relatesto what happened last night, asfar as we are aware, this is, I’m not aware of any incident ofthis kind that has taken placeat any one of our specialevents, on the county side or the cityside, pretty much in the last 40 years,” Turner said.
Former Marine says he administered CPR to 2 people after taking video inside violent mosh pit
The moment Lucas Naccarati saw the mosh pit during rapper Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival performance, he knew something wasn’t right.
Almost immediately after taking the video seen below, Naccarati said he rushed to administer CPR, which he learned while serving seven years in the Marines, to a male and female he saw pass out.
“I’ve never seen a mass amount of bodies dropping that fast before,” he said.
Watch Naccarati’s video below:
Once Travis Scott took the stage, "all hell broke loose," concert-goer says
From CNN’s Maya Brown
Travis Scott performs at Astroworld Festival on Friday.
Alexis Guavin has been to numerous Travis Scott performances but what she experienced at the Astroworld Festival was unlike anything she had seen before.
Guavin recounted what she experienced once Scott took the stage.
“Once he started, all hell broke loose. All of what is to be 50,000 people ran to the front, compressing everyone together with the little air available. Luckily, I have mosh pit experience and am 6ft tall so I could at least put my head up to breathe but others not so fortunate,” she said. “There were mosh pits in every single direction. And if you weren’t in them, you were trying so hard to push to not fall in. Like I’m telling you, there was one in front, back, to the left, and to the right of you wherever you were. Front, middle, back.”
Video shows crowd rushing through security gates at the start of Astroworld Festival
A video taken by concert-goer Lucas Naccarati shows a large group of people rushing through the entry gates during Friday’s Astroworld Festival.
Naccarati said that festival security was able to detain some of the people.
Watch the video:
More than one child was transported to the hospital from Astroworld Festival
From CNN’s Rosa Flores and Maya Brown
Lil Baby performs at the Astroworld Music Festival in Houston, Texas, on November 5.
Texas Children’s Hospital told CNN that more than one pediatric patient was transported to the hospital from the Astroworld Festival that turned deadly last night in Houston.
No more details were provided by the hospital. Local officials are scheduled to hold a press conference at 4 p.m. ET.
Some context: Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said during an overnight news conference that a 10-year-old child had been transported to the hospital.
The statement from Texas Children’s Hospital increases the number of children impacted by this tragic incident.
Houston’s Ben Taub Hospital received three patients from the festival, according toHarris Health System associate administer Amanda Callaway, and four people were brought to the Houston Methodist Hospital’s emergency department, according to hospital spokesperson Gale Smith.
A total of 23people were taken to area hospitals after the incident — 11 of whom were in critical condition — and eight of them died, Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peña told CNN Saturday morning.
Concert-goer during Scott's performance: "I truly thought that if I fell it would’ve been the end of me"
From CNN’s Maya BrownWhat was meant to be a nice birthday gift turned out to be the exact opposite for Sarai Sierra.
Sierra attended the Astroworld Festival to celebrate her birthday with five friends and family, and vividly recalled the countdown clock to Travis Scott’s performance on Friday night.
“It all started with the timer and the very odd and slightly scary music, noise that was being played on his stage,” Sierra told CNN. “The noise sounded like something you could get hypnotized with and the countdown or timer would end and then start again.”
When Scott appeared, the crowd began “raging,” she said.
Sierra added: “It felt like we were drowning in a pool filled of just people.”
Houston mayor: "We're looking at everything" to determine the cause of fatal Astroworld incident
From CNN’s Claudia Dominguez
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner speaks with CNN on Saturday.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner told CNN that authorities are looking into “everything” to find out what happened at the Astroworld Festival Friday night that left eight dead and dozens of others injured.
Turner also pointed out that this is the first time this has happened in the 30 years that events have been held in City of Houston or Harris County facilities.
“I’m not aware of a single person having died from one of the events, and this city is known for putting on big events, but we do want to do a thorough debriefing here, and look at every single thing,” Turner said.
Many of the injured continue to be treated, Turner said adding that many concert-goers have been reunited with their families.
Turner also said that there were some issues with “what was occurring inside the arena,” but he did not specify what those issues were.
Turner expressed his condolences to the family members of those affected by the tragedy.
Some context: At least 50,000 people attended the festival. Authorities have canceled the second day of the event that was scheduled for Saturday night.
Read the mayor’s statement:
Travis Scott says he's "absolutely devastated" by Astroworld Festival incident
From CNN’s Keith Allen
Travis Scott performs at the Astroworld Music Festival on November 5, in Houston, Texas.
Houston rapper Travis Scott released his first statement on Friday’s incident at the Astroworld Festival where at least eight people died, and scores of others were injured, his words came via hisverified Twitteraccount moments ago.
“Houston PD has my total support as they continue to look into the tragic loss of life,” he continues.
“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,” Scott says.
Nurse recalls feeling "constant pressure" on her body from the crowds ahead of Scott's performance
Madeline Eskins speaks with CNN on Saturday.
MadelineEskins is an intensive care unit nurse who attended the Astroworld Festival Friday night who detailed the traumatic experience on Instagram.
In an interview with CNN, Eskins said she and her boyfriend had gotten to the stage where rapper Travis Scott was to perform three hours early so they could get a good spot.
Things only got worse once Scott started performing, Eskins said.
“So right when he started performing his first song, I looked at my boyfriend and said, ‘We have to get out of here.’ He said, ‘I can’t. We can’t.’ We couldn’t. And then I just remember looking up and passing out,” Eskins said. “And then I was in and out for a little while. I didn’t see anything, but I could kind of feel what was going on. Someone pulled me over a fence and I was sat in a chair, and then I passed out again. And when I woke up, I was in a different area in a chair with a water bottle in my lap.”
Watch Eskins describe passing out during the concert:
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01:27 - Source: CNN
Astroworld concert-goer says the crowds "got worse and worse" as Travis Scott's performance went on
From CNN's Keith Allen and Rosa Flores
Nick Johnson and Angel Rodriguez speak with CNN on Saturday.
Concert-goers Nick Johnson and Angel Rodriguez spoke with CNN about their experience last night at the Astroworld Festival in Houston where at least eight people died, and scores of others were injured when the crowd surged toward the stage during a performance by Houston rapper Travis Scott.
Johnson and Rodriguez said Scott stopped the show on at least three occasions to ask for help for stricken concertgoers, and that they attended the festival with six other friends, who were all able to make it out safely.
Johnson said the crowded atmosphere built up over a long period of time Friday night.
“Everyone just started pushing to the front,” Rodriguez said about his vantage point, approximately 50 feet from the stage at the time. “It was so hard to breathe up there, you just have to wait until it pushes back, because if it [the crowd] gets pushed forward, it’s likely going to get pushed back,” he continued.
“When you get pushed back, people always fall over,” Rodriguez said.
“It was so hard to move your arms and it was so hard to breathe, that I was there, like pushing whoever was in front of me just like to, get a breather, just to breathe,” he said.
Listen to the music critic for Houston Chronicle describe the scene at the Astroworld Festival on Friday
Festival goers are seen exiting NRG Park on day one of the Astroworld Music Festival on Friday, November 5, in Houston.
In his roughly 10 years of covering Houston’s music scene, critic Joey Guerra had never witnessed something as tragic as what occurred late Friday night at the Astroworld Festival.
Guerra had arrived at the festival in the early afternoon and throughout the day he saw a “normal festival atmosphere.”
By the time Travis Scott took the stage later that night, Guerra was toward the back of the audience and saw small emergency vehicles cutting through the crowds but “for a festival, it didn’t seem out of the ordinary.”
Guerra said Scott played for about 75 minutes before the set was stopped.
Listen to Guerra’s interview here or below:
Texas governor calls Astroworld Festival incident "tragic"
From CNN’s Claudia Dominguez
Texas Governor Greg Abbott speaks at a meeting on October 27, in Houston, Texas.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued a statement Saturday on what he says is the “tragic” event at the Astroworld Festival that left eight dead and scores of others injured after concert-goers surged towards the stage while Houston’s Travis Scott was performing.
Video shows Travis Scott on stage as emergency vehicle approaches at Astroworld Festival
Video taken at the Astroworld Festival in Houston on Friday night shows rapper Travis Scott stop his show as an ambulance approaches the crowd.
See the moment Travis Scott notices an ambulance approach the crowd:
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00:21 - Source: CNN
Houston city officials start hotline to report missing people from Astroworld Festival
From CNN’s Keith AllenThe City of Houston’s Office of Emergency Management has established a hotline for those who have not been able to make contact with friends and family who attended Friday night’s Astroworld Festival where at leasteight people died and others were injured when the crowd surged toward the stage.
Houston OEM is asking those searching for loved ones to call (832) 393-2991 or (832) 393-2990, the agency notedon Twitter.
The festival’s Saturday slate has been canceled. Houston OEM said in a separatetweet.
Astroworld organizers thank police and fire departments "for their response and support"
From CNN’s Rosa Flores and Keith Allen
Ambulances arrive on the scene after a stampede at the Astroworld Festival in Houston.
Astroworld Festival organizers issued a statement via theirTwitter accountSaturday morning after at least eight people died and scores of others were injured after the crowd surged toward the stage at the Houston festival Friday night.
The statement continued: “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.”
Read the tweet:
Houston mayor sends condolences to those killed, injured at Astroworld Festival
From CNN’s Claudia Dominguez
Sylvester Turner speaks during a news conference in Houston, Texas, in 2018.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner expressed his condolences to the families of those that died and were injured at the Astroworld Festival in a tweet early Saturday morning.
A total of 23 people were taken to area hospitals, with the youngest person injured in the incident just 10 years old,Houston Fire Department Chief SamuelPeña told CNN Saturday morning.
Officials have canceled the second night of the concert Saturday.
Read the tweet:
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