On November 5th, in Houston, TX, 8 people died at Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival. Of the 8 dead, all (except one unidentified body) were under 30 years old. Many more attendees were injured, and multiple victims remain in the hospital, one of whom was declared brain dead by doctors. The horrific deaths of these poor people were caused by a large crowd surge at the concert. During Scott’s performance, all 50,000 concert-goers rushed the stage, causing suffocation by the extreme physical pressure put on people. Due to how densely packed the crowd was, everyone was forced to move together. Like dominoes, if one person fell, everyone in the surrounding area would follow. Unfortunately, as the push towards the stage continued, people trampled anyone who had fallen victim to this domino effect. 

Emily Munguia, a 22-year-old attendee, told CNN that she “felt so scared, like [she] was going to die.” Munguia is among many survivors who recounted their harrowing experiences. Instagram user Seanna McCarty (@seannafaith) made a post describing the incident, saying that in her fear, she went so far as to climb the videographer’s platform to try and inform officials of the mass-casualty incident occurring below. According to McCarty, one of the men even threatened to push her off of the 15-foot platform into the crowd below. She also recalls only two medics going into the crowd, despite the security presence. 

The loss of life that occurred in Houston that night is inexcusable, and the negligence of those in power that allowed this to happen is abhorrent, to say the least. Scott made a video statement that apologized for the incident, and he is reportedly covering the funeral costs of the victims. “There are a lot of unanswered questions,” said Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner. “Over the next several days, several weeks, could be even longer, we’ll take an in-depth look at everything that took place, why it took place, what steps we can take moving forward to mitigate an incident of this kind from taking place.”