Travis Scott sued after crowd surge tragedy – with lawsuit for $1m filed
At least one lawsuit has been filed over the fatal crowd surge at a concert by rapper Travis Scott, with more expected in the coming days.
Manuel Souza suffered “serious bodily injuries” in the tragedy at the Astroworld Festival in Houston, Texas, according to a petition seen by the Reuters and Associated Press news agencies.
Eight people aged between 14 and 27 were killed in the crush and hundreds more from a crowd of about 50,000 were injured. Scott has said he has been left “absolutely devastated” by the incident.
Around 50,000 people were at the festival. Pic: Twitter @ONACASELLA /via REUTERS
Investigators are expected to examine the design of safety barriers and the use of crowd control in determining what led to the surge at the sold-out festival, which was founded by Scott.
Mr Souza is seeking at least $1m (about £741,000) in damages from defendants including Scott and show organisers Live Nation, according to a lawsuit filed in Harris County District Court, Reuters reports.
Another man named Kristian Paredes has also filed a lawsuit against Scott, Live Nation and Canadian rapper Drake, who made a guest appearance at the concert, according to US media.
The tragedy unfolded after some of the crowd at the show are said to have pushed toward the stage at NRG Park, as a timer clicked down to the start of Grammy-nominated Scott’s show.
Among the victims were high school pupil Brianna Rodriguez, 16; medical assistant Rudy Pena, 23; student Franco Patino and his friend Jacob Jurinek, both 21; and Danish Baig, 27, who was reportedly injured as he tried to help his fiancée.
Brianna was described as “beautiful” and “vibrant” by her family on a crowdfunding page to raise money for her funeral, while Rudy was the “calmest, most playful and most sweetest with everyone”, his brother-in-law, Sergio Gonzales, told People.com.
Brianna Rodriguez, 16, was among the victims
Rudy Pena, 23, the youngest of five siblings, attended the show with his friends
Both Jacob and Franco were described in tributes on social media as two of the “nicest” and “kindest” people.
In a post written by Danish’s brother Basil on Facebook, he was described as “a beautiful soul whose smile would light up the room and put everyone before himself”.
Axel Acosta, 21, was also among the victims killed in the tragedy, his father, Edgar Acosta, told US media.
He was a computer science major at Western Washington University, which released a statement paying tribute: “By all accounts, Axel was a young man with a vibrant future. We are sending our condolences to his family on this very sad day.”
Franco Patino, 21, a student at the University of Dayton in Ohio, was described as an ‘amazing person’
Jacob Jurinek had saved up to attend the festival
Families of the victims have demanded justice as a criminal investigation is now under way, with Houston mayor Sylvester Turner calling the disaster a “tragedy on many different levels”.
Thirteen people remained in hospital on Sunday. Details of their conditions have not been released.
A security officer was also left unconscious after apparently being injected in the neck by a concert-goer. Houston city police chief Troy Finner said his department had opened a criminal investigation by homicide and narcotics detectives, following reports that somebody in the audience had been injecting people with drugs.
Houston police and fire department officials have said their investigation will include reviewing video taken by concert promoter Live Nation, as well as dozens of clips from people at the show.
Scott is expecting his second child with partner Kylie Jenner. Pic: ESBP/STAR MAX/IPx
Officials also looked to review the event’s security plan and various permits issued to organisers to see whether they were properly followed. In addition, investigators planned to speak with Live Nation representatives, Scott and concert-goers.
Scott, who founded the festival, said he was “devastated” following the deaths, and was working to help the families of “the ones that was lost” as well as giving his “total support” to police.
The 29-year-old star is known for his high-energy performances in which music fans are encouraged to stage dive and crowd-surf.
He stopped multiple times during his set after spotting fans in distress near the front of the stage, and asked security to help people out of the crowd.
His partner Kylie Jenner, with whom he is expecting his second child, said after the tragedy that they had been left “broken and devastated”, and offered her “deepest condolences” to the families of those affected.
Sky News has contacted representatives for Scott and Live Nation for comment. A spokesperson for Drake declined to comment on the lawsuit reports.
Entertainment
Snoop Dogg becomes co-owner and investor of Swansea football club saying it’s ‘an underdog just like me’
Police are taking no further action over Kneecap’s performance at Glastonbury.
Officers said they had investigated “comments about a forthcoming court case made during Kneecap’s performance” at the festival on 28 June.
However, after Crown Prosecution Service advice, they decided there is not enough evidence “to provide a realistic prospect of conviction for any offence”.
The Avon & Somerset force started investigating the Irish group’s show last month, as well as comments by punk-rap duo Bob Vylan.
It said they were looking at a possible public order incident.
Police said on Friday that the investigation into Bob Vylan’s performance was ongoing.
The London duo were widely criticised – and caused a BBC crisis – after leading on-stage chants of “death to the IDF” (Israel Defence Forces).
Kneecap’s Liam Og O Hannaidh appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in June. Pic: PA
Kneecap posted a photograph on Instagram, which the group said was an email from police announcing the case was being dropped.
They said their packed Glastonbury gig was a “celebration of love and solidarity” and reporting used “wildly misleading headlines”.
Fears over what Kneecap might do or say during the performance had prompted the BBC not to show it live.
The group said: “Every single person who saw our set knew no law was broken, not even close… yet the police saw fit to publicly announce they were opening an investigation.”
“There is no public apology, they don’t send this to media or post it on police accounts,” they added.
The police statement on Friday said they had informed Kneecap of their decision to drop the case.
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One of the group’s members appeared in court in June charged with a terror offence.
Liam Og O hAnnaidh is accused of displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah, a proscribed organisation in the UK, at a gig last year.
He was released on unconditional bail ahead of a second court appearance in August.
Entertainment
Tomorrowland: ‘Devastating’ blaze destroys main stage at major festival – two days before it was due to begin
A huge fire has destroyed the main stage of a major festival in Belgium – two days before it was due to begin.
Tomorrowland is a dance music event as big as Glastonbury – and David Guetta was due to perform.
Footage showed flames and thick plumes of black smoke engulfing the stage and spreading to nearby woodland on Wednesday.
The fire gutted the main stage
Fire crews attempt to bring the blaze under control
The annual festival in the town of Boom, north of Brussels, is one of the biggest in Europe and attracts about 400,000 people over two consecutive weekends.
It is famous for its immersive and elaborate designs and attracts big names within dance music – including Guetta, best known for tracks When Love Takes Over and Titanium.
Dutch DJs Martin Garrix and Charlotte de Witte were also due to perform, along with the likes of Swedish House Mafia, Eric Prydz and Alok.
Black smoke could be seen rising into the sky
The festival’s website described the creative elements which went into the elaborate main stage.
The theme, described as Orbyz, was “set in a magical universe made entirely out of ice” and “full of mythical creatures”.
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Organisers said no one was injured in the blaze but confirmed “our beloved main stage has been severely damaged”, adding they were “devastated”.
Spokesperson Debby Wilmsen added: “We received some truly terrible news today. A fire broke out on the Tomorrowland site … and our main stage was essentially destroyed there, which is truly awful.
“That’s a stage that took years to build, with so much love and passion. So I think a lot of people are devastated.”
Spokesperson Debby Wilmsen told reporters ‘a lot of people are devastated’
Despite the fire, Tomorrowland organisers said they were still expecting 38,000 festivalgoers at DreamVille, the event’s campsite.
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