Photo: Alex Bierens de Haan / Getty Images
Samuel Peña, Houston fire chief, said that Travis Scott had to finish his concert immediately on Friday night in Houston, after seeing what was happening at the hearing, where eight people died as the crowd packed in to get a closer look at the rapper.
“The artist is in control of that crowd. In my opinion, and this is my opinion because everything is going to unfold throughout this investigation, the artist, if he notices something that is happening, he can certainly pause that performance, turn on the lights and say, ‘Hey, we will not continue until get this resolved, ‘”Peña said on NBC’s Today show this Tuesday.
Peña clarified that he did not blame Scott for initiating the crowd surge.
“I’m not prepared to say that. I’m not prepared to say that he was fully aware of what was going on , ”he said.
Eight people were killed and dozens injured on the first night of the third Astroworld Festival, an annual event attended by 50 thousand people, founded by Scott and named after his acclaimed album of 2018.
On two previous occasions, Scott has pleaded guilty to inciting chaos in his shows, a concert in Arkansas at 2017 and their participation in Chicago’s Lollapalooza festival in August 2015.
The Office of Emergency Management He said of his participation in Lollapalooza: “The artist played a song and then started telling fans to jump over the barricades. Due to the swift security response, the situation was resolved immediately and no fans were injured. ”
The same cannot be said for his show on 14 May 2015 in Roger, Arkansas, where Scott encouraged fans to take the stage and avoid security at the Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion.
According to a police report and video of the event, Scott told the crowd: “This pit looks empty, I don’t know if everyone is scared or what, but this is your last chance. The security guards let them pass, the security guards let them pass. ”
1,000 to 2,000 people rushed to the stage on Scott’s orders, according to Lt. David C. Jones, who was working on additional duties at the concert. .
The Arkansas concert and subsequent arrest appear in the Netflix documentary “Look Mom, I Can Fly” by 2019.
The eight victims of Friday’s tragedy have between and 27 years. They were Axel Acosta Ávila, of 21; The Danish Baig, 27; Madison Dubiski, 23; John Hilgert, 14; Jacob Jurinek, 20 years; Franco Patiño, 21; Rodolfo Peña, 23; and Brianna Rodríguez, 16.
Scott continued acting for more than half hour after first responders declared a ‘mass casualty’ event, with the sounds of their music drowning out the desperate cries for help from the audience.
“For those who were lost last night, we are working at this time to identify the families so that we can help them in this difficult time,” the rapper shared on his social networks.
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