Houston Police Release Full Report on Astroworld Tragedy
The Houston Police Department released its final report on the 2021 crowd crush tragedy at Travis Scott‘s Astroworld festival on Friday (July 28). The more than 1,200-page document details the Houston PD’s investigation into the tragedy, which left 10 people dead and hundreds more physically injured.
The report arrives just a month after a Houston grand jury declined to file criminal charges against Scott and other Astroworld organizers over the deadly incident. The decision followed a 19-month investigation, during which Harris Country District Attorney Kim Ogg said investigators tracked down “every piece of relevant evidence,” interviewed witnesses and watched “thousands and thousands of hours” of video.
In a statement to Billboard at the time, Scott’s lawyer, Kent Schaffer, said the decision not to bring charges “confirms what we have known all along — that Travis Scott is not responsible for the Astroworld tragedy.”
Despite being criminally cleared, Scott and other organizers still face civil litigation over the disaster. Since it occurred on Nov. 5, 2021, thousands of alleged victims have filed more than 400 civil lawsuits against Scott, Live Nation and others involved with the festival, claiming they were legally negligent in how they planned and conducted the event, including by failing to provide adequate security and emergency support. The alleged victims, whose lawsuits have been combined into a single massive action, are seeking billions of dollars in damages. Though a trial or trials may be held, such litigation often ends in settlement agreements.
You can read the Houston PD’s full report here. It arrives the same day as Scott’s new album, Utopia.
Chris Eggertsen
Billboard
