A stampede of followers surging towards the stage throughout rap star Travis Scott’s Astroworld music pageant in Houston killed at the least eight individuals and injured dozens extra as panic rippled by means of the gang of largely younger concertgoers, officers mentioned.
Metropolis Police Chief Troy Finner mentioned his division has opened a felony investigation by murder and narcotics detectives following unconfirmed studies that somebody within the viewers “was injecting different individuals with medicine.”
The catastrophe unfolded at NRG Park at round 9:30 p.m. on Friday in the course of the headline efficiency by Scott, a Grammy-nominated singer and producer, following what police and members of the gang described as an escalation of unruly conduct all through the day.
As followers within the sold-out viewers of about 50,000 pressed towards the stage, individuals started to fall unconscious, some apparently struggling cardiac arrest or different medical points, officers advised reporters outdoors the venue. Minutes later the chaos was declared a “mass casualty incident.”
Finner mentioned that among the many “narratives” below overview by police had been studies suggesting “some particular person was injecting different individuals with medicine.”
One report concerned a safety officer “who felt a prick in his neck” as he was making an attempt to restrain or seize somebody after which fell unconscious, solely to be revived with a dose of the opioid antidote naloxone, Finner mentioned, citing an account from medical personnel who handled the officer.
Finner mentioned the medical employees additionally observed what gave the impression to be a needle mark on the officer’s neck.
It was not clear whether or not authorities suspected such an episode performed a job within the crowd surge, however Finner mentioned, “we’re going to get right down to the underside of it.”
Police had been awaiting autopsies to find out the causes of dying, however mentioned some victims had been trampled.
Scott launched a 90-second video on social media late on Saturday, saying that whereas on stage “I might simply by no means think about the severity of the state of affairs.”
Metropolis Hearth Chief Samuel Peña mentioned it appeared the venue had ample exit routes for followers and that none was obstructed.
Twenty-five individuals had been taken to hospitals by ambulance after the crush started, a few of them in cardiac arrest, with 13 nonetheless hospitalized on Saturday – 5 below age 18 – following the discharge of 4 sufferers, Mayor Sylvester Turner advised reporters. Eight individuals died. Most ranged in age from 14 to 27, although one sufferer’s age was not instantly identified, Turner mentioned.
(REUTERS)