The investigation into the mass casualty event that left eight people dead at the 2021 Astroworld Festival continues and now video has surfaced that shows police officers tasked with securing the event appearing to be unaware of the casualties taking place.
On Thursday (Nov. 11), XXL obtained video footage from a source that shows an angle of the show previously unreleased. In the snippet, Travis Scott and Drake perform onstage. In the foreground, several Houston police officers are standing around observing. What looks to be one officer has their phone out and appears to be getting footage of Travis and Drake’s set.
The clip is significant. Based on estimated timelines, the concert had been deemed a mass casualty event by officials before Drake had ever touched the stage. Which would mean that the group of officers were apparently oblivious of the deaths occurring in the crowd. Watch the video below.
Who knew what and when has been a focal point of the investigation into how the concert on Nov. 5 at NRG Park in Houston turned into a deadly event when a large portion of the crowd began to surge forward, smushing and trampling concertgoers at the front of the pack. The ages of those killed during the tragedy range from 14-27. A 9-year-old attendee is reportedly in a coma.
The surge that caused the catastrophe began around at 9:15 p.m., with officials declaring it a mass casualty event at 9:38 p.m. The show was not completely shut down until 10:10 p.m., officials claim. “From the moments, for example, that the reports were made known, in terms of people falling, injured, let’s say roughly at about 9:30 [p.m.]. This event came to end at 10 minutes after 10 [p.m.], is when everything stopped,” Mayor Sylvester Turner told the assembled press on Nov. 6. “People, in between, were either seen on the site or taken to area hospitals. So I do want to acknowledge the very quick response of EMS units and the fact that this event did come to an end at 10:10 [p.m.].”
Travis has been facing backlash from people who think he should have seen or done more to stop the situation. Houston Police Chief Troy Finner has come out to say he warned Travis of potential danger before the show.
According to Travis’s partner Kylie Jenner, the rapper was not aware people had been killed at the show until he saw it announced on the news. The unknowing rapper even went to an after party at Dave and Buster’s following the show.
The repercussions of the disastrous show are already starting to unfold. As of Tuesday (Nov. 9), lawsuits related to the show were up to 18 and counting, including at least one filed against Drake as well.
On top of refunding all attendees, Travis has vowed to pay for the funeral expenses of those who perished at the event.
On Thursday, Travis’ team released the following statement to XXL about connecting with those impacted by the show: “Over the last week, Travis Scott and his team have been actively exploring routes of connection with each and every family affected by the tragedy through the appropriate liaisons. He is distraught by the situation and desperately wishes to share his condolences and provide aid to them as soon as possible, but wants to remain respectful of each family’s wishes on how they’d best like to be connected. To those families who would like to reach out directly to his team, please send an email to the below address where we will have a team on hand to assist. [email protected]”
Aside from the individual lawsuits, there is also an ongoing criminal investigation reportedly involving the FBI.
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