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The third annual Astroworld festival was canceled for the remainder of the weekend after a stampede erupted, killing eight and injuring hundreds.
“The crowd began to compress toward the front of the stage, and people began to panic,” according to Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peña.
ABC 13 Houston reporter Mycah Hatfield posted a video showing her point-of-view of the chaos. “As we were arriving to the Astroworld Festival at NRG Park right at 2:00, a stampede burst through the gates. Hundreds of people destroyed the VIP security entrance, bypassing the checkpoint. People were trampled. Some were detained,” she captioned the video.
As we were arriving to the Astroworld Festival at NRG Park right at 2:00, a stampede burst through the gates. Hundreds of people destroyed the VIP security entrance, bypassing the checkpoint. People were trampled. Some were detained.
(Excuse any language you may hear) pic.twitter.com/d0m2rjqAAk
— Mycah Hatfield (@MycahABC13) November 5, 2021
CNN reports, “The event’s live stream showed Scott pause his performance to look on in confusion as an ambulance with lights flashing pulled into the venue.”
First responders were so overwhelmed that concertgoers began performing CPR on those who needed medical attention, as per several social media posts.
this is crazy#AstroWorld #ASTROWORLDFest pic.twitter.com/l3rXokFbys
— 𝖘𝖍𝖆𝖆𝖓𝖊༒♱ (@officialshaane) November 6, 2021
there was ambulances literally inside the crowd at astroworld pic.twitter.com/nQIU6WrEgp
— ona (ෆ˙ᵕ˙ෆ)♡ (@onacasella) November 6, 2021
#astroworld can't believe concert didn't stop to let emergency cre. Sad. pic.twitter.com/h71l5B73DR
— Manny Gofurself (@Manfreshjizzle) November 6, 2021
this getting outta hand🤦🏾♂️ that’s an ambulance #ASTROWORLDFest #AstroWorld #ASTROFEST pic.twitter.com/jcCrg8a3CO
— The Bad Guy (@helowkeyspittin) November 6, 2021
Organizers and Apple Music are being criticized for keeping the Livestream going despite the urgency.
#ASTROWORLDFest #AstroWorld The people telling him to get down really need to have a think about there priority’s pic.twitter.com/98gnTqrQv8
— mia x (@thefunnyhun) November 6, 2021
More panic began to erupt as more attendees were having “medical episodes.”
“Once we started having the mass casualty incident, they were starting CPR on several people, and it happened all at once,” HPD Executive Assistant Chief Larry Satter White said, who was on-duty at the festival along with 367 police officers and 241 security officers. “It seemed like it happened over the course of just a few minutes. Suddenly, we had several people down on the ground experiencing some type of cardiac arrest or some type of medical episode.”
The organizers issued an official statement saying, “our hearts are with the Astroworld family tonight – especially those we lost and their loved ones. We are focused on supporting local officials however we can. With that in mind, the festival will no longer be held Saturday.”
The message concluded with, “Thank you to our partners at the Houston Police Department, Fire Department, and NRG Park for their response and support.”
