Travis Scott has avoided being prosecuted for criminal charges in the 2021 Astroworld tragedy that left 10 people dead and hundreds more injured.
TMZ was on hand when a Texas grand jury “no-billed” — or, declined to bring criminal charges — against the rapper on Thursday (June 29). The “SICKO MODE” rapper didn’t testify in his own defense at the grand jury hearing, according to his attorney Kent Schaffer.
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Scott has always insisted that he wasn’t aware of the ongoing stampede at the concert, but dozens of civil lawsuits have been brought against him and are still pending, according to the outlet.
The outcome of the criminal case will have no bearing on the civil cases that are currently in litigation. The Harris County District Attorney, who brought forth the criminal charges, declined to comment on the outcome.
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On November 5, 2021, Travis Scott held the opening night of his Astroworld concert. By the end of the evening, eight people were dead and hundreds more were injured after the crowd of approximately 50,000 concert attendees started flooding the NFG Stadium stage.
As Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peña explained, “The crowd began to compress toward the front of the stage, and people began to panic.” The melee began around 9:15 p.m. local time, and once Scott and organizers Live Nation realized what was going on, they immediately stopped the show.
Two more people succumbed to their injuries after the concert.
HipHopDX contributor Mark Elibert was in attendance at the festival and according to his recollections, the horrors extended to all the human senses.
“There was an energy that wasn’t supposed to be there and a level of aggression in the air brought forth by dusty, weird looking people,” Elibert recalled. “People hopping gates … smoking disgusting-smelling blunts. I heard people were selling pills and I couldn’t get over how nasty those blunts smelled. I assume that means those blunts were laced with [shit.]”
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Around 300 people were also estimated to have been treated on the festival grounds at a makeshift treatment facility. The names and ages of the casualties weren’t known, but Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said one of the victims was 10 years old.
Peña also said CPR had to be performed on 11 of the victims and one point, HFD had 55 units in-service for the festival.
After the tragedy, the second day of the Astroworld festival was canceled.
