Rapper Travis Scott will not face criminal charges over deadly crowd rush at Astroworld in 2021

HOUSTON — A grand jury in Texas has declined to indict rapper Travis Scott in a criminal investigation after 10 people were killed during a crowd rush at the Astroworld music festival in 2021.

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The decision came 19 months after Scott’s Astroworld festival left nearly a dozen people crushed to death and left hundreds of others injured, according to the Houston Chronicle.

The Houston Police Department and federal officials have been investigating Scott, Live Nation, and others over whether they had proper safety measures in places at the festival, according to The Associated Press.

“My client Travis Scott will not be charged with criminal charges or any wrongdoing for his involvement with AstroWorld festival.

“Today’s decision by the Harris County District Attorney confirms what we have known all along — that Travis Scott is not responsible for the AstroWorld tragedy. This is consistent with investigative reporting by numerous media outlets and federal and state government reports that have squarely placed the onus for event safety crises on organizers, operators and contractors — not performers.

“While waiting patiently for the District Attorney’s decision to not file charges, Travis Scott has been inaccurately and wrongly singled out, despite stopping the show three separate times and being unaware of the events as they were unfolding.

“Now that this chapter is closed, we hope for the government efforts to focus on what is most important — stopping future heartbreaking tragedies like AstroWorld from ever occurring again,” Scott’s attorney, Kent Schaffer, said in a statement obtained by the Rolling Stone.

On Nov. 5, 2021, people attending the concert went to the stage after 9 p.m. as the headliner, Scott, started to perform, the Chronicle reported. It got dangerous as the crowd squished together leading to hundreds unable to move or breathe.

Officers saw warning signs but had difficulty for some time assessing the danger, the newspaper reported. Within about 30 minutes as fans fled the area, they were able to determine what had happened. Multiple people were trampled and others passed out.

Scott did not end his concert until around 10:10 p.m. which was about an hour after he began. Scott reportedly did not know anything until someone got on his headset and told him to end his show with his final song as Drake left the stage, Schaffer said, according to the Chronicle.

The newspaper says it is unclear what possible charges the grand jury had weighed in on.

Scott, Live Nation and ScoreMore are still facing billions of dollars in possible damages over hundreds of civil claims that allege wrongful death, personal injuries, and negligence, the Rolling Stone reported.

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