(Trends Wide) — As investigators and attendees try to learn more about what caused Friday’s deadly crowding at the Astroworld Festival in Houston, a slew of lawsuits are being filed in civil courts on behalf of showgoers.
At least 58 civil lawsuits have been filed in Harris County District Court in connection with the disaster as of Wednesday, asking city officials, concert organizers and artists how the concert was finally allowed to continue. while eight people died in the tumult.
Houston Police Chief Troy Finner told a news conference Wednesday that the “final authority to end a show [era] with the production and the artist, and that should be through communication with public security officials. “
“We don’t have the plug,” he said.
Authorities have said that first responders began receiving news of injuries from the public around 9:30 p.m. and that the show continued for another 40 minutes.
Finner claims his investigation has revealed that police personnel informed the production team in charge of the performance that at least one person was being CPR and to stop the show. Finner did not specify who the production team is or the timing of the notifications.
The performance of Live Nation, the promoter and organizer of the show, has also been questioned, as well as that of the festival’s headliner, Travis Scott, who has maintained that he did not know what was happening in the audience during his performance.
“If the lights had come on -[si] the promoter or artist would have asked – the crowd would have cooled down, and who knows? Who knows what the result would have been? But everyone in that place, starting with the artist, has a responsibility for public safety, “Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peña told Trends Wide on Monday.
However, Scott’s representatives are discussing the characterizations made by city officials about his responsibility in the surge.
Edwin F. McPherson, Scott’s attorney, issued a statement Wednesday criticizing Houston city officials for the “allegations,” “inconsistent messages,” and retraction of the statements.
A 56-page plan of operations, obtained by Trends Wide this week, establishes a clear chain of command in the event of an incident, identifying the role of the executive producer as well as the festival director as the only people with the authority to stop the concert. The PDF obtained by Trends Wide is marked Version: 0.1, and it is unclear if this is the final version of the plan or when it was written.
“The Operations Plan was reported to designate that only the festival director and executive producers have authority to stop the show, neither of whom are part of Travis’ team,” McPherson said in the statement.
McPherson also pointed to Finner’s comments on Saturday to the effect that authorities were concerned that the show might be halted prematurely due to possible disturbances from concert goers.
Former Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, who was introduced to Scott by a mutual friend, told Trends Wide’s Erin Burnett that Scott is “absolutely devastated” by what happened at the Astroworld Festival.
“His heart bleeds for his fans,” he said.
From Houston, Rawlings-Blake said she spent more than four hours with Scott on Wednesday and is working with him to make sure they are speaking with city administration and promoters.
“We are doing everything in our power to make sure that no fan loses their lives at another concert,” he said.
“He’s angry. He’s angry about what happened,” she said, adding: “I think pointing fingers is unproductive. Deep down, he wants to reach out to families. He also wants to reach out to make sure something like this doesn’t come back. to happen”.
The investigation “will take weeks, possibly months”
Finner shared at Wednesday’s press conference that it was too early to say for sure that charges would be pressed for the disaster, but said investigators “were not going to leave any stone unturned.”
The crowd crushing investigation “will take weeks, possibly months,” he said.
The chief clarified earlier reports and said there was no evidence that a festival security guard had received a drug injection, but rather that he was hit on the head and left unconscious.
And even though Finner said Wednesday that an independent investigation is not warranted, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo could order a potential third party to do so.
“What happened at Astroworld this weekend was a horrible tragedy, and the families of the victims deserve answers. There may well be criminal liability, and that is why we continue to fully support the criminal investigation of the Houston Police Department,” he said Rafael Lemaitre, Director of Communications for Hidalgo.
“At the same time, Harris County continues its process of identifying an independent third party to examine any operational or administrative measures – beyond criminal – that may have been taken to prevent this from happening.”
Two people remain in critical condition
Of the hundreds of people who were treated at the scene after the wave of people on Friday, at least two who were transferred to a hospital remained in critical condition on Wednesday, Peña told Trends Wide.
Bharti Shahani, 22, attended the concert with her cousin and younger sister, according to her cousin Mohit Bellani. After sustaining multiple injuries, Shahani is on a life-saving ventilator in critical condition, the family’s attorney, James Lassiter, said in a statement.
Shahani is a Texas A&M University student in Electronic Systems Engineering Technology, a university spokesperson confirmed to Trends Wide.
A 9-year-old boy was also seriously injured at the festival, according to his family, and is in a doctor-induced coma.
Survivors of the Astroworld wave describe scenes in which many attendees were imprisoned and, at times, unable to stand.
“They passed out. They were on the ground and basically they were trampled on. And no one was picking them up,” concert-goer Billy Nasser told Trends Wide on Monday. “There were too many people there. It was crowded. The way the barricades were set up had people trapped. It was a death trap.”
Trends Wide’s Josh Campbell, Rosa Flores, Ray Sánchez, Dave Alsup, Raja Razek, Anna-Maja Rappard, Steve Almasy, Allison Flexner, Claudia Domínguez, and Caroll Alvarado contributed to this report.
