Global Courant
A Texas grand jury declined to bring criminal charges on Thursday against rapper Travis Scott and five others over a 2021 crowd pleaser at a music festival that killed 10 and injured thousands, prosecutors said.
Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said the grand jury was the culmination of a 19-month investigation into the tragedy at Scott’s Astroworld Festival in November 2021.
“Our detectives and prosecutors gave everything they had to make sure the grand jury got to the truth,” Ogg said.
Scott’s lawyer, Kent Schaffer, said the findings confirmed that Scott was not responsible for the tragedy at the festival.
“With this chapter closed, we hope the government will focus on what matters most: preventing future heartbreaking tragedies like Astroworld from ever happening again,” Schaffer said in a statement.
Five others, including Live Nation festival manager Brent Silberstein, were also acquitted.
“Brent has done everything he can to run a safe festival,” said Silberstein’s attorney Christopher Downey.
Lawyers for the others were not immediately available on Thursday.
The probe stemmed from a deadly wave of fans at Astroworld in Houston, where thousands were injured as the overcapacity crowd pushed forward as Scott took the stage. Ten people were killed by compressive asphyxia, including a 10-year-old boy.
The audience watches as Travis Scott performs at Astroworld Festival at Houston’s NRG Park during the festival. An estimated 50,000 people attended. (Jamaal Ellis/Houston Chronicle/The Associated Press)
The tragedy unleashed a wave of lawsuits against Scott and the festival’s organizers, including entertainment giant Live Nation, which merged with Ticketmaster in 2010.
Prosecutors allege that Scott, Live Nation and more than two dozen other defendants let too many people into the venue despite knowing the risks because they wanted the concert to appear full.
At least 4,900 fans were injured, according to lawyers representing victims in lawsuits against Scott and the organizers.
The cases have been consolidated in Texas state court in a process known as multidistrict litigation, which streamlines the adjudication of similar lawsuits.
The family of one of the people killed settled on undisclosed terms with Scott, Live Nation and others in October 2022.
Other lawsuits are pending, including one brought by the family of the 10-year-old boy who was killed.
Look | Travis Scott, Drake sued for negligence after Astroworld rush:
Travis Scott, Drake sued for negligence over deaths at Astroworld festivals
Travis Scott and Drake are being sued for negligence after eight people were killed in a wave of crowds at the Astroworld music festival in Houston. One of the lawsuits accuses both rappers of ‘inciting a riot’.
