Just a week after tragedy struck Houston’s Astroworld festival, more than 100 lawsuits have been filed against the organizers, performers, stadium managers, and others.
Nine people died and more than 300 were injured November 5, opening night of the planned two-day festival, which was cancelled, as CrimeOnline previously reported.
Investigators are still working to determine exactly what happened — and what caused the deaths and injuries — as thousands of fans rushed toward the stage where rapper Travis Scott was performing.
The lawsuits name event producer Live Nation, Scott — whose real name is Jacques Bermon Webster II, rapper Drake — full name Aubrey Drake Graham, Scott’s record company Cactus Jack, and more. Live Nation alone is the target of 108 suits filed by the time Houston County District Court closed on Friday afternoon, the New York Post reported.
Concertgoer Niarra Goods said in her suit she was injured in the crowd and asked for $1 million in damages.
“The deadly crowd surge and its aftermath unfolded right in front of Webster and Graham. Nonetheless, they continued their performance while medical personnel struggled to reach the numerous unconscious and injured concertgoers,” the suit said.
The family of 9-year-old Ezra Blount, who is still in a coma after the event, filed suit earlier this week. Another lawsuit claims that women were sexually assaulted during the crush toward the stage.
Some of the lawsuits named ASM Global, the managers of NRG Park, where the festival was held, and Harris County Sports and Convention Corporation, which owns the park. Other suits named crowd management company Contemporary Services Corporation.
Meanwhile, the Houston Fire Department released logs Friday that revealed concertgoers had breached the main gate 12 hours before the chaos that caused the deaths, and that three hours later, reports of people using bolt cutters to gain entrance to the venue surfaced, KHOU reported. Injuries were reported throughout the afternoon, and by 5 p.m., police reported “dangerous crowd conditions.”
After Scott took the stage at 9:02 p.m., the first reports of injuries came at about 9:15, and 911 calls began 20 minutes later. At 9:38 p.m., Houston Police declared a mass casualty event and told organizers to shut down the show.
While Scott paused his performance a time or two, he continued for 40 minutes. His spokesperson said the performer didn’t know what was happening and that “it was hours and hours after the concert when they actually found out about the tragedy and how it unfolded.”
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[Featured image: FILE: Travis Scott onstage at Astroworld on November 5. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP, File)]
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