According to Houston Fire Department Chief Samuel Peña at a Friday night press conference, a “mass casualty” event occurred at 9:38 p.m. local time at Houston’s NRG Park. Estimating the crowd’s attendance at around 50,000, Peña said trouble began shortly after 9 p.m. when “the crowd began to compress toward the front of the stage and that caused some panic and started causing some injuries. People began to fall out and become unconscious and that created additional panic.” Per Peña, Astroworld’s medical tent and staff was “quickly overwhelmed” by the scale of the incident, after which the Houston fire department stepped in and dispatched 50 units.
The second day of Astroworld, which began in 2018 and is in its third year, was canceled as a result of the tragedy. “Our hearts are with the Astroworld Festival family tonight – especially those we lost and their loved ones,” reads a statement provided by representatives from the Astroworld Festival. “We are focused on supporting local officials however we can. With that in mind the festival will no longer be held on Saturday. As authorities mentioned in their press conference earlier, they are looking into the series of cardiac arrests that took place.”
See Scott’s statement below.
