Travis Scott won't face criminal charges in Astroworld tragedy
Jun 30, 2023
Los Angeles [US], June 30 : Rapper Travis Scott has sought relief from Astroworld lawsuit.
As per Variety, Travis and organisers behind the Astroworld Festival will not face criminal charges related to the deaths of 10 people who were suffocated when the crowd rushed the stage during his performance at Astroworld festival in 2021.
At a press conference following the concert, Houston fire chief Samuel Pena clarified the timeline. He said that the crowd began surging forward at 9 p.m., as there was panic involving people running for safety. At that point, Scott paused his set several times to ask security to help out fans, and members of the fire department were sent into the dense crowd to rescue the injured.
However, Scott and promoters Live Nation and ScoreMore still face billions of dollars in potential damages over hundreds of civil claims alleging wrongful death, personal injuries, and negligence.
Scott has refuted allegations regarding his responsibility over the tragedy and has motioned for the suits to be dismissed, as did festival promoters Live Nation and its subsidiary Scoremore also motioned to dismiss the suit, Variety reported.
In a statement to Variety, Scott's attorney Kent Schaffer said, "My client Travis Scott will not be charged with criminal charges or any wrongdoing for his involvement with AstroWorld festival.
"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. 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. 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."
