Some witnesses have described being unable to move their arms or even breathe due to how tightly packed the event was. Videos from the event, posted to social media, appear to show some attendees in distress as a result of the mass of people being pushed up against the security barricades at the concert. local time-40 minutes after Houston Police Chief Troy Finner spoke with officials with NRG Park and said his department noticed that attendees were “going down.”įinner defended the amount of time it took for the event to be cancelled saying, "You cannot just close when you've got 50,000 - over 50,000 - individuals, OK?" We have to worry about rioting - riots - when you have a group that's that young." Those who attended the concert said there was a timer onstage counting down to the start of Scott’s headline performance as the massive crowd pushed forward. Officials have said that some 50,000 people were in attendance on the first day of the sold-out, two-day event. "I will continue to pray for all of them and will be of service in any way I can."ĭrake did not comment on the lawsuit in the statement. "My heart is broken for the families and friends of those who lost their lives and for anyone who is suffering," he said while calling the incident a "devastating tragedy." Paredes, who is suing for negligence, is seeking US$1 million in damages.Īccording to documents obtained by CTV News Toronto, the lawsuit alleges that Drake came onstage as a surprise guest at Scott’s Astroworld Festival and helped to “incite the crowd,” and continued to perform while the “crowd mayhem continued.”ĭrake released a statement late Monday night on Instagram saying he has spent the last few days trying to wrap his mind around what happened. Scott, real name Jacques Bermon Webster II, Live Nation Entertainment, and Harris County Sports & Convention Corporation are also named in the suit. Henry, alleges that Kristian Paredes, who attended the show hosted by local rapper Travis Scott at NRG Park last week, sustained injuries after “the crowd became chaotic and a stampede began.”
Toronto rapper Drake is among those named in a lawsuit after he made a guest appearance at a music festival in Houston Friday night where eight people were killed and hundreds of others were injured in a crowd crush.