Travis Scott attended afterparty amid Astroworld Festival disaster, was unaware of fatalities
Amid the Astroworld Festival disaster, Travis Scott went to Dave & Buster's for a concert afterparty.
The 30-year-old rapper went from NRG Arena in Houston, where a stampede during his show led to eight deaths and hundreds of injures, to a party hosted by Drake, who was a surprise performer at Scott's show, as the tragedy continued to play out, sources tell Yahoo Entertainment.
Scott didn't know the severity of the situation when he arrived at the party, the sources say. He immediately left the party after he was informed about the tragedy at his concert.
As the investigation continues, a timeline has come together for Friday's tragedy. Scott, who founded the festival in his hometown in 2018, was performing with Drake, whose appearance was a surprise, at about 9 p.m. when the crowd started to surge toward the stage. Some of the approximately 50,000 concertgoers became crushed and trampled amid the scene, and by 9:38 p.m. authorities deemed it a mass-casualty event. Two minutes after that, the first person was treated by medics. Amid the flashing lights of an ambulance and medical crews helping ailing concertgoers, Scott continued performing until approximately 10:15 p.m.
Remington Richardson, who worked as an emergency medical technician at the festival, said on Wednesday's Today show that the music in the venue was so loud his radio calls for backup went unheard.
Houston Fire Chief Samuel Pe?a told CNN on Tuesday night that his department was not in communication with concert organizers during the event. The fire department was ultimately able to rush its resources into the crowd and eventually transported 12 "very critical" victims. In many cases, CPR was in progress as they were taken to the hospital. Pe?a previously said that Scott should have halted the show.
A "devastated" Scott has said he didn't know the severity of the situation. His pregnant partner Kylie Jenner, who was at the show with their 3-year-old daughter, said they "weren't aware of any fatalities until the news came out after the show." He's paying the funerals of the victims.
There were eight fatalities, ranging in age from 14 to 27: Axel Acosta, 21; Danish Baig, 27; Madison Dubiski, 23; John Hilgert, 14; Jacob E. Jurinek, 20; Franco Patino, 21; Rudy Pe?a, 23; Brianna Rodriguez, 16.
Bharti Shahani, a 22-year-old Texas A&M student, is in critical condition and not showing brain activity after having several heart attacks during the crowd surge.
"They say the chances of survival are nothing," the woman's father, Sunny Shahani, told Houston news station KTRK.
A 9-year-old boy, Ezra Blount, remains in a medically induced coma — as doctors attempt to alleviate trauma to his brain, liver and kidney — after being "nearly crushed to death." He attended the show with his father, Treston, who passed out during the crowd surge. Ezra, who was on this father's shoulders, was trampled.
Real Housewives of New York alum Bethenny Frankel said her BStrong Foundation would donate $10,000 to help Blount's family, which has a GoFundMe, with medical costs. The family has filed a lawsuit against concert promoter Live Nation and others, alleging "grossly negligent conduct."
More than 30 lawsuits total have been filed with ScoreMore Shows (promotions and management), Live Nation (ticketing), Contemporary Services Corporation (security), Harris County Sports and Convention Corporation (property owner) and Scott as defendants. Drake was also named in at least one.
According to an event-planning document created by the concert organizers ScoreMore, staff members for the two-day Astroworld festival were told ahead of time to refer to any dead concertgoers by using the term "smurf."
A source close to Scott told Insider of the report, "Travis's team is not involved in any venue security or emergency planning. The plan was created by a separate group entirely."
Scott is known for high-octane shows and twice faced criminal charges for riling up his crowds. He's also rapped about it in "Stargazing," singing, "It ain't a mosh pit if it ain’t no injuries / I got 'em stage diving out the nosebleeds." In the wake of the tragedy, some of his past social media shares have been resurfaced — including several that seem to celebrate and glorify show chaos.
A lawyer for Kyle Green — who was pushed from a third-floor balcony at a 2017 Scott show and was left partially paralyzed — has spoken out, saying Scott "hasn't learned." (Green previously sued Scott, and others, alleging the rapper “incited mayhem and chaos through his conduct.” Scott denied “each and every” allegation.)
In the wake of the tragedy, a petition with over 26,000 signatures is calling for Scott to be removed from the 2022 Coachella lineup. He's scheduled to headline the April show.
For this moment, he's taking a break from performing. Scott canceled his appearance this weekend at Day N Vegas Festival. It has been announced Post Malone will fill in.
