Night Court debate Travis Scott liability in Astroworld festival
Class action attorney Kelly Hyman and Bryan Rotella, founder of Lawyer Differently, discuss the legal implications of the mass casualty event in Texas that left eight dead and hundreds injured.
Rapper Travis Scott will not face criminal charges related to the 2021 Astroworld incident, in which a crowd crush killed 10 people and injured thousands of fans.
According to Scott's lawyer Kent Schaffer, a Houston grand jury declined to indict the "Sicko Mode" rapper Thursday.
"Today’s decision by the Harris County District Attorney confirms what we have known all along — that Travis Scott is not responsible for the AstroWorld tragedy," Schaffer's statement to Fox News Digital began.
"This is consistent with investigative reporting by numerous media outlets and federal and state government reports that have squarely placed the onus for event safety crises on organizers, operators and contractors — not performers," he continued.
Travis Scott performs during 2021 Astroworld Festival at NRG Park in Houston on Nov. 5, 2021. (Erika Goldring/WireImage)
"While waiting patiently for the District Attorney’s decision to not file charges, Travis Scott has been inaccurately and wrongly singled out, despite stopping the show three separate times and being unaware of the events as they were unfolding. Now that this chapter is closed, we hope for the government efforts to focus on what is most important — stopping future heartbreaking tragedies like AstroWorld from ever occurring again," Schaffer concluded.
ASTROWORLD DEATHS: TRAVIS SCOTT ‘ABSOLUTLEY DEVASTATED’
Schaffer previously told Reuters that a Houston grand jury mulled over the possible charges that day.
"Nothing Travis did or failed to do fits within the Texas criminal code," Schaffer said to Reuters.
A Houston grand jury opted not to indict Travis Scott on Thursday. (Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Houston police and federal officials have been investigating whether Scott, concert promoter Live Nation and others had sufficient safety measures in place.
Schaffer said he feels sympathy for those who were killed at the festival and their families.
ASTROWORLD: HOUSTON POLICE CHIEF MET WITH TRAVIS SCOTT AHEAD OF EVENT, EXPRESSED 'CONCERNS'
"But Travis is not responsible," Schaffer said. "Bringing criminal charges against him will not ease their pain."
According to the attorneys representing victims, at least 4,900 fans were injured.
Ten people were killed and hundreds were injured at Scott's Astroworld festival in 2021. (Amy Harris/Invision/AP, File)
In October, the families of two people who died in the tragic events that occurred at the 2021 festival settled their wrongful death lawsuits.
Ten people were killed and hundreds of others injured during a massive crowd surge at the Nov. 5 concert in Houston. The settlement terms for both lawsuits were confidential.
Attorney Tony Buzbee announced on Oct. 19 that the family of 21-year-old Axel Acosta had settled its lawsuit against more than 20 defendants, which included Scott and Live Nation, the festival’s promoter.
More than 500 lawsuits were filed after the deadly concert.
Scott faced criticism for not stopping the 2021 show. (Rick Kern/Getty Images)
When Scott, whose real name is Jacques Bermon Webster, took the stage to close out the 2021 Astroworld Music Festival, the crowd was already densely packed with fans looking to get a glimpse of the headlining performer.
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Many of them sneaked into the venue throughout the day. Authorities have said 50,000 people attended the event in Houston. Over 300 people were treated at an on-site field hospital at NRG Park, and at least 13 were hospitalized after the crowd reportedly surged forward.
Scott faced criticism for not stopping the show, but he has claimed multiple times that he was unaware of how dire the situation was in the crowd from his vantage point on the stage and only learned of how bad things got after his set had concluded.
Scott on stage at the 2021 Astroworld festival. (Erika Goldring/WireImage)
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The youngest victim of the tragedy was 9-year-old Ezra Blount. The others who died ranged in age from 14 to 27, many of whom were named in the lawsuits that were filed in the days after the tragedy.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
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