By: Hailey Baloutch
On November 7, 2021, concertgoers to Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival in Houston, Texas, found themselves in a perilous situation as the crowd spun out of control, killing nine people and injuring hundreds more. But how did such a seemingly fun event turn so deadly? Several organizational failures contributed to the danger, including a venue with only one exit, a lack of security, undertrained medics, and no way for employees to communicate with one-another.
The single most impactful factor was the density of the crowd. The way the venue was set up contributed significantly to the crowd swell, as there were no barriers between the sections, allowing people at the back to press as close as they could to the stage, unaware of the density they were causing at the front. This turned deadly. According to CNN, people were packed together so tight that they could not move, breathe, or escape. Each time a song started the chaos only increased, as the concertgoers began jumping and “moshing.” People who fell could not get back up, and were trampled by people who could not control their movement either, or crushed by others who were pushed on top of them. Beneath stamping feet and falling bodies with no way of maneuvering back up, several people were critically injured and nine people died. One teenager shared his experience of being at the front to Fox19.com, saying he felt like his ribs were going to crack from the pressure of being compressed against the rail. Security guards helped several people over these rails, saving them from this fate. However, the question remains as to why security did not signal to stop the show once it became clear people were in mortal peril.
Graphic by: Navin Ponnusamy
“It’s unacceptable, honestly. It’s appalling to think that security was understaffed and unable to control the situation,” said Zara Williamson (‘22).
Responsibility for this tragedy does not end with poor management of security. When police arrived on scene at 9:38 p.m., they declared a “mass casualty event,” however they failed to communicate this to the performers. According to Business Insider, Travis Scott was not notified that people died at his concert until afterwards. While people reportedly screamed for help in between sets, their voices were drowned out by the volume of the crowd. This left performers unaware of the damage they were causing until it was too late. Once the police were aware of the “mass casualty event,” they allowed the show to continue for another 37 minutes. This is negligent on the part of law enforcement. If they had acted quicker, several lives could have been saved.
“While I understand that perhaps Travis Scott may have had limited control over stopping the concert, it’s certainly important to consider the kind of behavior he encourages at his shows,” said Anupriya Lulla (‘22).
While it remains unclear exactly what Travis Scott was aware of on stage, several fans have pointed out that he should have stopped the show as soon as an ambulance arrived, and when an unconscious fan was transported from the audience.
“I get that Travis’ whole thing is ‘it isn’t a mosh pit if there are no injuries’ but it’s the morally correct thing to do to pause to make sure everyone’s fine,” said Navin Ponussamy (‘22).
Furthermore, even if he could not see the full extent of the injuries people were gaining in the audience, he had a front-seat view to the density of the crowd. Performers should be able to recognize when a crowd is dangerously dense so as to avoid similar tragedies in the future.
