With the crowd ranging around 50,000, surges resulted in concertgoers packed together with no way out. The panic began 2 hours before the show, causing those who had passed out to be “crowd surfed” to security in hopes of getting help. 

As the concert began, the number of those who required medical attention grew dramatically. 

Local Houston authorities have claimed that the festival venue met inspectors’ criteria for safe entry and exit, but the idea of the crowd being confined was not one on authorities’ minds. Sam Peña, Houston fire chief, claimed that the venue could have handled 200,000 people under city fire codes. 

While 100,000 tickets went on sale for this year’s event, it is unknown how many people were attending Travis Scott’s set at the time of the incident. 

Peña states, “The crowd for whatever reason began to push and surge towards the front of the stage, which caused the people in the front to be compressed—they were unable to escape that situation.”

Influencer Imanawann posted a three-minute video on Tiktok summarizing her experience at Astrofest. 

She states, “30 minutes before Travis Scott was set to perform, there was a countdown put on stage counting down. At about one minute we began to get crushed into the barricade, I couldn’t breathe. The shorter you were, the more you got moved by the crowd. I started getting girls out of the pit because I could see them getting crushed.”

According to an article written about the devastating event by The New York Times, “​Questions raised by concertgoers and local officials included whether there had been adequate security and medical personnel on hand for the event and whether the concert could have been shut down sooner.”

The fatalities range in age from 14 to 27, and the cause of death for most has been determined to be suffocation or cardiac arrest. The youngest patient hospitalized was only 10 years old.

Concertgoers pleaded for the show to stop in order for emergency services to help those who needed it, but the show continued. 

TikTok user @kingtutsdaughter, a local resident of Houston states her opinion on who is at fault for the incident: “I think the event managers and Travis Scott are the ones to blame because they could’ve easily stopped the show so people could get the help they needed. Also, the fans that were pushing people down are also at fault because I personally got stepped on and climbed over just so a guy could see Travis better.” 

@kingtutsdaughter would also go on to explain, “I would explain it as the worst thing I’ve ever had to experience, it’s like being trapped in a locker and not being able to move anything but your head, but even that was difficult. Even trying to raise your hands was impossible…”

Scott posted to Twitter Saturday night stating that he was “absolutely devastated by what took place last night” and guaranteed to “working together with the Houston community to heal and support the families in need.”

Those who have attended large festivals other than Astroworld events have stated that something about the crowd behavior felt different. 

The tragic end to Scott’s concert has left many understanding the value of life. No matter the circumstance, your life is more valuable than how close you are to a celebrity. 

@kingtutsdaughter states, “Going into this festival, no one knew the outcome for it. Yes, his [Travis Scott’s] concerts are known for being hectic but no one has suffocated to death due to it.”

If you are interested in helping Astroworld victims and their families, below are links provided by Click Houston News to GoFundMe accounts for 5 of the 8 who lost their lives: 

Brianna Rodriguez, 16: A junior at Heights High School in Houston, Texas, who had a passion for dance.

Axel Acosta, 21: A college student studying computer science who had traveled from Washington state to Houston for the festival.

Rodolfo “Rudy” Peña, 23: Peña traveled from Laredo, Texas for the show. His family is hoping to raise $100,000 toward expenses and a memorial.

Ezra Blount, 9: A 9-year-old from Houston who was on his father’s shoulders waiting for Drake’s appearance. Ezra’s father was crushed in the crowd and passed out. The child was trampled and is now in a coma at Texas Children’s Hospital. 

Bharti Shahani, 22: A 22-year old Texas A&M University senior has shown no brain activity after she was injured during Friday’s disaster at the Astroworld Festival, her family said.