Cops at Astroworld did call for concert to stop during deadly crowd surge

An audio recording of communications between police officers from the Astroworld Festival disaster shows that they called for the concert stop due to the fact that people were being trompled. However, Travis Scott continued his performance.

The crowd surge that occurred at the festival, which was attended by 50,000 people, on November 5, left 9 people dead and several others injured. One of these victims was a nine-year-old boy. He is currently in an intubated coma.

People who attended the concert described feeling unsafe and watching people fall while Scott performed. Scott’s attorneys have said he did not know about the deaths and injuries until after the show.

Troy Finner of Houston Police has placed Scott under the blame after his officers caught him on camera milling around next to Scott and recording Scott using their smartphones after an’mass casualty incident’. 

Lawyers for the 200 victims announced Friday that they would file another 90 lawsuits against festival promoters. 

Alex Hilliard, a personal injury lawyer said that there was no plan and things were chaotic from the time the gates opened at NRG Park at 9 AM on November 5. 

On Friday another lawyer representing the 150 additional victims provided logs of fire departments. They showed that one lieutenant asked for riot gear almost an hour before the festival began.   

Scroll down to see the video 

Recordings from police radio traffic on the night of disaster at Astroworld Festival show that officers became acutely aware of danger in the crowd. 

Although police ordered the concert stop, Travis Scott performed for almost an hour despite the overwhelming crowd.   

Scott had just finished his one-hour set, when one Houston police officer radioed to say that there was a large crowd surge on the main stage.

Houston Chronicle has obtained audio recordings of police radio traffic to reveal the rapid awareness that law enforcement had of the growing danger in the concertgoers just after the rapper’s performance.

According to audio, a police officer said that people were coming out of the crowd with difficulty breathing and crushing injuries. It seems like the crowd is engulfing itself.

Scott continued to perform his set. Reports in the newspaper stated that while officers saw some people moving away from the crowd, their voices did not change for half an hour.

‘I’m at the medical tent,’ one officer radioed in around 9.30pm. ‘There’s a lot of people trampled and they’re passed out at the front stage.’

On the audio, a second officer can be heard saying about the crisis unfolding: “That crowd is super dense and super thick.” This could potentially turn into an officer rescue situation if you get in there.  

Later, another officer says: ‘we’re getting multiple reports of people getting injured. A second report on cardiac conditions with CPR is available by the stage. 

The crowd grew in size and officers began to become alarmed. One radioed: “They have to stop this show because people are trampled…they’re not breathing.”  

CBS Mornings’ Sophie, a nurse registered in nursing, said Friday she was close to the stage and fell on another concertgoer. Then two more people fell on Sophie. 

“And that was the moment when I just kind of thought to myself, “she recalled. I was able to get up thanks to a guy. 

Video captured police officers milling around next to Scott’s stage and even filming Scott’s performance with their smartphones. 

Sophie got up and went to assist victims with her medical training. But the three first people she assisted were already deceased. Arturo, a festival goer, was alive and well but she had very weak pulse. 

Sophie stated, “I believe he would die if I hadn’t got there at the same time as he did.” 

Sophie described witnessing what she called ‘disregard for life’ as concertgoers stole clothing and electronics from victims. 

Scott could be just 10-15 feet away, but she couldn’t see the people asking for his assistance. 

On Thursday, Scott’s representatives said in a statement that he was distraught and has been trying to connect with the affected families to share condolences and provide them aid. 

The Chief of Police, Finner, stated Wednesday that officers told organizers not to perform the show after CPR was given to many fans.

Authorities gave word around 10.03pm that the concert was in the process of shutting down, but witnesses say Scott and Drake, who took the stage toward the end of Scott’s set as a special guest, kept performing.

Finner repeated his refusal to give timelines as he claimed that the case is still being investigated. Finner claimed that more than 500 officers are working at the festival. This is more than twice the amount of officers assigned to the festival in 2019.

Finner stated that the festival organizers hadn’t provided any clear record of how many private security personnel were on hand for the show and that what was turned in by them was ‘just not fair’. It was up to Live Nation Entertainment, the show’s promoter, to secure two mosh pits in front of the stage, Finner said.

Lawyer representing the victims claimed that medics present at the scene were not adequately staffed and did not have sufficient equipment to save lives. 

Scott’s attorneys on Wednesday pointed to an operational plan for the event that states only the festival director and executive producers have the authority to stop the show, ‘neither of which is part of Travis’s crew.’

John Duff is a lawyer whose clients include Ezra Blount’s family. He said that concertgoers in the area to the right of stage would have needed to travel through thousands to reach the main medical tent. According to Duff, festival grounds were still littered with bags, phones cases, and shoes a week later.

“There were probably 1000 pairs of shoes.” He said that it seemed like there were a lot of people who left their shoes on the ground or were not wearing clothes. You could feel a presence there.

Tony Buzbee is the lawyer representing the Acosta families and over 150 Astroworld victims. He released logs from the Houston Fire Department that reveal that a lieutenant asked for riot gear at 8.15am before the venue’s gates opened. 

Police requested emergency medical assistance for four individuals an hour later.  

Concertgoers broke through gates and checkedpoints at 10.15AM and caused damage to fences.

Buzbee explained that logs show that security was unable to control the crowd as soon as 10 AM. The day passed quickly and things became more difficult. The organizers, promoters, security, medical staff, and performers had ample opportunity—literally hours of notice—to cancel the concert before anyone was injured. It is a crime. 

Buzbee stated that he would file a suit on Monday to seek more than 500 million dollars. 

On Friday, personal injury attorneys Ben Crump and Alex Hilliard held a joint press conference in Houston to announce that they were brining 90 lawsuits on behalf of 200 clients claiming they were injured during the festival. 

Scott was also sued by Live Nation Entertainment Inc. in at least 50 additional lawsuits. These are related to deaths and injuries that occurred during the concert. 

Crump stated that any of the concert officials could have saved lives and injured people by turning off the lights and stopping the show when chaos broke out in the crowd.

Crump stated that ‘Nobody should ever be killed by going to a show’. Crump stated that this lawsuit does not only seek justice for the victims, it also seeks to ensure that organizers and promoters are aware that this cannot happen again.

Ben Crump, a civil and personal injury attorney, announced that he will file 90 lawsuits for 200 victims who were hurt during the concert. 

Attorney Alex Hilliard claimed that things got out of control at the venue the moment gates opened at 9am because  there was no plan in place 

Hilliard was furious at the organizers’ “criminal behavior”, which he said began weeks before the concert, when there had not been a safety plan in place.  

Hilliard stated, while standing alongside his clients that “Everything was out of control at 9 a.m. when the gates opened,” Chaos ensues when the first victim is hurt. Chaos grew and grew and became so widespread that multiple people lost their lives.

Hilliard described the scene at the concert as “45 minutes of torture”, with attendees unable to move or breathe and witnessing their fellow guests die in front of them.

He said, “And when you finally get out of the war zone, and you leave that crowd behind, you can see many bodies on that floor.”

According to the lawyer, medical staff at the hospital were “egregiously understaffed” and did not have sufficient equipment such as defibrillators to revive all victims.

Arturo, a concertgoer (left), was saved by Sophie, a registered nurse who said she had been nearly killed. 

Hilliard said that the concert should not have been authorized based upon evidence collected by experts from the scene.

“We are talking about Live Nation, the largest promoter and organizer of festivals and concerts around the globe,” he stated. It’s criminal to have such a huge failure. It’s criminal.

He stated that many clients did not understand, when buying tickets for their deaths certificates, and how they could.

Drake and Travis Scott could be hit with a hefty lawsuit. 150 people join suit against the rappers following the tragic crush at Astroworld concert. 

After a lawsuit was filed against 150 victims of the fatal crush at Astroworld’s concert, Travis Scott and Drake may be liable for ‘billions in damages’.

Thomas J. Henry (powerhouse Texas attorney), father of Liam Payne and Maya Henry says that more people are contacting him ‘by each hour’

Eight people were killed at the NRG stadium on Friday night, more than 300 people received treatment at an emergency field hospital set up there, 11 others went into cardiac arrest and dozens more were knocked unconscious. 

Henry said that Henry was receiving more calls about injured victims every day. Henry stated that he believes the victims of the attack could have suffered damages in excess of $1 trillion.

Kristian Paredes, a 23-year old concertgoer, is one of his clients. He accuses Scott & Drake of inciting mayhem at the event.

The eight dead (L-R): Rodolfo ‘Rudy’ Pena, 23; Jacob Jurinek, 20; Franco Patino, 21; Brianna Rodriguez, 16; Danish Baig, 27; Axel Acosta, 21; John Hilgert, 14; Madison Dubiski, 23.

Texas resident Paredes claims he has been left “severely hurt” and wants $1 million to pay for his medical treatment.

According to the complaint, he “felt an instant push” at the front section of general admission when Travis Scott got up on stage. 

“Many begged Live Nation Entertainment security guards for assistance, but they were ignored.”

In a suit filed at Houston’s Harris County Court, Scott claims he ‘had incited chaos and mayhem at previous events’, and that the ‘defendants knew (Scott’s) prior conduct.

Canadian Rap Star Drake is also being accused.

The complaint alleges that Drake, who was on stage with Travis Scott, incited the crowd despite knowing about Travis Scott’s past conduct.

He still performed in spite of the fact that the crowd was out-of-control and there was more chaos, it continued. 

Ben Crump, a prominent attorney, announced that he also had filed suit against Scott & Astroworld on Sunday.   

Crump represents the victims’ families, George Floyd and Breonna Tyler.

Bob Hilliard and he filed suit for Noah Gutierrez (21) on Sunday. Gutierrez described his experience as one of chaos, despair and despair.

Lawyers stated that they expect to sue concert-goers throughout the week.

Crump and Hilliard stated in the statement that they were hearing horrifying accounts about the terror and helplessness experienced by people.

We urge anyone who was injured or witness to the incidents of that day, including those with a physical or emotional disability, to reach out.