After the crowd surge that left 10 dead at the Astroworld Festival in Houston, Texas on November 5, 2021, a criminal investigation into who was at fault has begun.
Nearly 300 injuries occurred after performer Travis Scott (a Houston native) took the stage as the headliner. The performance was standing room-only, so the crowd of approximately 50,000 fans was able to surge the stage. As a result, some of those nearest to the stage were crushed.
What happened?
The Astroworld Festival began with a series of opening acts. Around 9 p.m., Scott’s performance began. This sent the standing room-only crowd into a frenzy, with the crowd rushing the stage from all sides. Samuel Peña, the fire chief, said this surge made it difficult for spectators in the front middle section to breathe. Those in the middle of the scrum then began to pass out.
By 9:30, an ambulance finally made its way into the crowd—where concert goers were reportedly dancing on top of the vehicle. The show, however, went on. It wasn’t until around 10:10—over an hour after Scott took the stage and 30 minutes after the event was declared a mass casualty event—that the concert ended.
According to Houston’s chief of police, Troy Finner, officials didn’t stop the concert earlier because they were concerned that it would lead to animosity and violence. Furthermore, he said that when you have that many people in a crowd, you can’t just stop without fear that it will lead to rioting—especially when it’s a group of young people.
The official cause of death for the 10 fatalities is cardiac arrest or being crushed by weight.
Investigators consider criminal liability
Several law enforcement officials are investigating the event, including both the Houston police and the FBI. While the Astroworld event was scheduled for an entire week, the tragic event occurred on the first night, halting the rest of the event.
Scott may face criminal charges as he’s been implicated by some for inciting the crowd. This isn’t the first time he’s faced criminal charges for inciting crowds to push toward the stage at his concerts.
In 2015, he was arrested and pled guilty to reckless conduct charges after exhorting fans to rush the stage during a Lollapalooza show in Chicago. Additionally, he also pled guilty to disorderly conduct in 2017 at an Arkansas music festival.
According to an LA Times article, a legal expert suggests that Scott could be charged with manslaughter, which encompasses the recklessness involved, but makes it a less deliberate form of homicide than murder.
By Texas law, persons charged with manslaughter must know the risk involved in a given action in order to be charged. Likewise, they would have to act dangerously with knowledge of the consequences.
That said, the Times legal expert also suggests that bringing criminal charges against Scott could prove difficult as it would require a high burden of proof to prosecute. Moreover, a civil lawsuit(s) would be much easier.
If a manslaughter charge prevails, under Texas law, it would be a second-degree felony. Second-degree felonies carry with them punishments that include 2 to 20 years in state prison as well as fines up to $10,000.
Where things stand now
To date, there has been no announcement of any criminal charges being filed; however, there have been several hundred civil lawsuits. These lawsuits have been filed against Scott, Live Nation (the event promoter), Harris County Sports & Convention Corporation (the venue) and ScoreMore Shows (the Texas show promoter).
At stake from these lawsuits is hundreds of millions of dollars to be paid to those who were injured and the loved ones of those killed. This case is still very much on-going.