Travis Scott will not face criminal charges over his Astroworld concert that left 10 concertgoers dead and hundreds injured, his lawyer confirmed to USA TODAY Thursday.
The rapper’s lawyer Kent Schaffer said in a statement that Scott, 32, will not face criminal charges for his involvement in the deadly music festival. At a press conference streamed Thursday, Kim Ogg, the district attorney of Harris County, Texas, confirmed that a grand jury reviewed the case and found that “no crime did occur” and “no single individual was criminally responsible.”
“Today’s decision by the Harris County District Attorney confirms what we have known all along − that Travis Scott is not responsible for the AstroWorld tragedy,” Schaeffer said. “This is consistent with investigative reporting by numerous media outlets and federal and state government reports that have squarely placed the onus for event safety crises on organizers, operators and contractors − not performers.”
He continued: “While waiting patiently for the District Attorney’s decision to not file charges, Travis Scott has been inaccurately and wrongly singled out, despite stopping the show three separate times and being unaware of the events as they were unfolding. Now that this chapter is closed, we hope for the government efforts to focus on what is most important − stopping future heartbreaking tragedies like AstroWorld from ever occurring again.”
On Nov. 5, 2021, an overflow crowd of 50,000 people descended on the Houston event helmed by Scott. Fences were overrun, and security was overwhelmed. As Scott began his evening set, some crushed fans had already died. Shouted pleas to stop the show went unheard or ignored.
In all, 10 concertgoers lost their lives, succumbing to asphyxiation, while 25 were hospitalized and 300 others were treated for injuries at the site.
More:A year after Travis Scott’s Astroworld disaster left 10 dead, are crowded concerts any safer?
More than 500 lawsuits were filed after the deadly concert. Those who died ranged in age from 9 to 27 years old. Those killed died from compression asphyxia.
Scott shares two children with his girlfriend, reality television star Kylie Jenner: daughter Stormi, 5, and son Aire, 1.
More:Travis Scott’s lawyer slams ‘finger-pointing’ over Astroworld tragedy: What we know
Contributing: Maria Puente, Marco della Cava and Melissa Ruggieri, USA TODAY; Juan A. Lozano, The Associated Press
