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 Two of the victims were
teenagers, aged 14 and 16, caught in the
crushing surge of the crowd as Scott continued
to perform, completing his set even after
noticing fans were receiving medical treatment.
Scott, the headline act and a hometown star who
founded the Astroworld festival in 2018, later
said he was unaware of the severity of the
situation.
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.
One security guard felt a prick on his neck,
passed out, and was revived after being injected
with Narcan, a drug used to treat opioid
overdoses, Finner said. Several others were
treated with Narcan, according to the city's
fire chief, Samuel Pena.
Harris County Judge Lina Hildago also called for
an "objective, independent" investigation of the
rap festival attended by 50,000 people.
"Perhaps the plans were inadequate. Perhaps the
plans were good but they weren't followed,"
Hildago said. "The families of those who died,
everybody affected, deserves answers."
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner also called for a
briefing from all the parties including first
responders, concert promoter Live Nation, and
officials of the venue, NRG Park.
The first lawsuit in the case has been filed.
Manuel Souza, who suffered "serious bodily
injuries" at the show, is seeking at least $1
million in damages from a host of defendants
including Scott and Live Nation, according to a
petition filed in Harris County District Court.
Neither Scott's representatives nor Live Nation
immediately responded to requests for comment on
Sunday night.
The victims were killed near the stage when the
crowd surged forward, with some suffering
cardiac arrests and other medical trauma,
officials said.
The dead ranged in age from 14 to 27, with one
victim's age to be determined, Turner said.
Officials had yet to identify them but some
details emerged in the media.
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 The Houston Chronicle
identified the youngest victim as John Hilgert,
a high school freshman who played football and
baseball and arrived early to get a good spot to
watch the show.
He went with a 15-year-old friend, the Chronicle
reported, citing an interview with the friend's
mother, Tracy Faulkner. She bought her son his
ticket as a birthday present, a decision she now
regrets, the Chronicle said.
"They were both in the same place at the same
time and one came home and one we will never
see," Faulkner said.
"John was a good student and athlete and so
polite. He was the sweetest and smartest young
man," she said.
The Chronicle identified another victim as
Danish Baig, 27, who died trying to protect his
fiance from the crush of the crowd, according to
Baig's younger brother, Basil Mirza Baig.
"I lost my brother," Basil Mirza Baig said in
tears. "He was trying to save her from the
stampede."
The second day of the two-day show was canceled.
Trouble began some time after 9 p.m. on Friday
when the crowd compressed near the stage,
causing panic, Pena said. By 9:30 p.m., it was
clear people needed medical attention, and Scott
acknowledged an ambulance moving through the
crowd, pausing and encouraging the crowd to make
room.
But Scott returned to performing, telling the
crowd he wanted to "hear the ground shake."
At some point concertgoers approached the stage
crew and pleaded with them to stop the show,
according to social media video.
Scott finished his set at 9:42 p.m., the
Chronicle reported.
Scott, a Grammy nominated singer and producer,
said in a video posted on social media late on
Saturday: "I could just not imagine the severity
of the situation."
(Reporting by Erwin Seba in Houston, Tim Reid in
Los Angeles and Daniel Trotta in Carlsbad,
Calif.; Editing by Michael Perry)
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