Fatalities and Warning Signs Ignored at 2021 Astroworld Festival, Police Report Reveals
HOUSTON (AP) — A newly released police report on the deadly 2021 Astroworld festival in Houston has revealed several warning signs that were ignored leading up to the tragic event. The report includes transcripts of 911 calls from concertgoers and interviews with festival workers, including rap superstar Travis Scott.
The crowd surge that occurred on November 5, 2021, resulted in the deaths of 10 attendees, ranging in age from 9 to 27, due to compression asphyxia. Approximately 50,000 people were in attendance at the festival.
The report highlights texts between security contract worker Reece Wheeler and event organizer Shawna Boardman. Wheeler expressed his concern about the safety of the crowd and warned that someone could end up dead. Despite these warnings, Scott’s concert began at 9:02 p.m.
Police investigators reviewed video footage from the concert’s livestream and discovered that requests to stop the show were faintly heard at different intervals throughout the night. However, these pleas went unnoticed, and the concert continued.
One of the private security directors, Boardman, admitted during a police interview that she did not pass along Wheeler’s concerns because she believed the situation was not as bad as he had stated.
A grand jury declined to indict anyone, including Scott, Boardman, and four others investigated over the event. Scott, in his police interview, claimed that he did not see any serious problems in the crowd and would have taken action if he had heard concertgoers requesting the show to stop. Similarly, Hip-hop artist Drake, who performed with Scott, stated that he did not see what was happening in the crowd from the stage and was unaware of the pleas to stop the show.
Additional interviews with festival workers and concert attendees revealed further negligence. Daniel Johary, a college student who got trapped in the crowd, shared that hundreds of people chanted for Scott to stop the music but were ignored by staff members in the area.
The report also mentioned a retired Houston police officer working for a private security company at the festival who raised concerns about the chaotic situation. Despite his efforts, little attention was given to his warnings.
Camaraman Gregory Hoffman, operating a large crane, radioed the show’s production team to inform them that people were dying. However, he was later asked about when the crane would be back in operation.
The police report’s release coincides with Scott’s release of his new album, “Utopia,” which comes after over 500 lawsuits were filed in relation to the festival. Many of these lawsuits targeted concert promoter Live Nation and Scott himself.
The official release of the police report allows the public to read the entire investigation and come to their own conclusions about the case. However, Police Chief Troy Finner declined to provide an overall conclusion of the investigation or comment on whether the concert should have been stopped sooner during a news conference after the grand jury’s decision.
The tragedy at the Astroworld festival continues to serve as a stark reminder of the importance of prioritizing crowd safety and heeding warning signs in event planning and management.