Astroworld tragedy: Travis Scott will not face criminal charges
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Los Angeles: American singer and rapper Travis Scott and the organizers of Astroworld Festival will not face criminal charges over the deaths of ten people due to crowd rush during his performance at the festival.
A grand Jury in Houston made the ruling, according to the 'Houston Chronicle'.
The show was attended by around 50,000 fans, which led to a surge during Scott’s performance at the festival outside NRG Park.
Lacking air and space, some fainted and were trampled by the crowd. Among those who were killed in the November 2021 havoc was a nine-year-old, and hundreds more concertgoers were injured.
At a press conference following the concert, Houston fire chief Samuel Pena clarified the timeline by saying that the crowd began surging forward at 9 p.m., as there was panic involving people running for safety.
At that point, Scott paused his set several times to ask security to help out fans, and members of the fire department were sent into the dense crowd to rescue the injured.
However, Scott and promoters Live Nation and ScoreMore still face a lawsuit seeking billions of dollars in potential damages over hundreds of civil claims alleging wrongful death, personal injuries, and negligence.
Scott has denied the allegations regarding his responsibility over the tragedy and has motioned for the suits to be dismissed, as did festival promoters Live Nation' and its subsidiary 'Scoremore' also motioned to dismiss the suit, ‘Variety’ reported.
Scott's attorney Kent Schaffer said in a statement, "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 has been playing festivals and club dates in recent months, most prominently the Rolling Loud festival. His album, 'Utopia' is expected to be released next month.
With inputs from IANS
