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At least 8 dead and many injured at Astroworld Festival in Houston

By Fernando Alfonso III, CNN

Updated 6:02 AM ET, Mon November 8, 2021

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4:54 p.m. ET, November 6, 2021

Here's what we know about the tragedy at the Astroworld Festival in Houston

From CNN's Andy Rose, Aya Elamroussi and Jason Hanna

At least eight people are dead and many others injured after a crowd surged forward toward a stage at the Astroworld Festival in Houston on Friday night.

Here's what we know:

Crowd surge: At least eight people are dead and many others were injured after a crowd surged forward as rapper Travis Scott was on stage at the festival on Friday night, officials said. The event's live stream showed Scott pause his performance to look on in confusion as an ambulance with lights flashing pulled into the venue. The festival ended at 10:10 p.m. local time, Mayor Sylvester Turner said during a news conference Saturday.
"Scores" injured: "We had scores of individuals that were injured," Houston Fire Chief Sam Peña during a news conference early Saturday morning. About 50,000 people were at the sold-out outdoor music festival at NRG Park — the stadium complex where the Astrodome and the NRG Stadium stand — when the incident happened just after 9 p.m. CT, officials said. "The crowd for whatever reason began to push and surge towards the front of the stage, which caused the people in the front to be compressed — they were unable to escape that situation," Peña told CNN Saturday morning.
Concert-goers share their stories: Numerous people in attendance for Scott's performance have shared their experiences. Madeline Eskins is an intensive care unit nurse who detailed the traumatic experience on Instagram. “So right when he started performing his first song, I looked at my boyfriend and said, ‘We have to get out of here.’ He said, ‘I can't. We can’t.’ We couldn't. And then I just remember looking up and passing out," Eskins said. "And then I was in and out for a little while. I didn't see anything, but I could kind of feel what was going on. Someone pulled me over a fence and I was sat in a chair, and then I passed out again. And when I woke up, I was in a different area in a chair with a water bottle in my lap.” Fellow attendee Sarai Sierra said the festival experience was like "drowning in a pool filled of just people."
Scott releases a statement: “I’m absolutely devastated by what took place last night. My prayers go out to the families and all those impacted by what happened at Astroworld Festival,” Scott tweeted. “Houston PD has my total support as they continue to look into the tragic loss of life."
Investigation ensues: Investigators will review video from the scene and look at how the venue was laid out and whether it had enough exit points, Peña said. The investigation will explore "what caused, one, the issue of the crowd surge, and two, what prevented people from being able to escape that situation," Peña said. The causes of deaths are pending the medical examiner's determination, he said. Officials have canceled the second night of the concert Saturday.
Security officer fell unconscious: Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said one security officer said he was stuck in the neck Friday night during Astroworld when trying to restrain a concert-goer. "We do have a report of a security officer, according to the medical staff that was out and treated him last night, that he was reaching over to restrain or grab a citizen and he felt a prick in his neck. When he was examined, he went unconscious, they administered Narcan," Finner said during a news conference Saturday. "He was revived and the medical staff did notice a prick similar to what you would get if somebody was trying to inject. That is one part of it." There were "several instances where they did administer Narcan on scene," Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peña said when asked if medical personnel at the festival administered Narcan, a “save shot” or a “rescue shot” because of its ability to bring someone back from an overdose.
Condolences shared: Turner expressed his condolences to the families of those that died and were injured at the festival in a tweet early Saturday morning. “The city of Houston extends our condolences to the loved ones of 8 people killed & several injured at #ASTROWORLDFest. Organizers held the event to bring people together for music, but it sadly ended in tragedy. Thanks to police, fire & other agencies that responded to assist,” the tweet said.
Past issues: In 2019, three people were trampled and hospitalized as thousands rushed to get into the festival. The event, now in its third year, is organized by Scott, a Houston native. It had been scheduled to run from Friday through Saturday, according to the event's website.

4:46 p.m. ET, November 6, 2021

A security officer at Astroworld Festival received Narcan after falling unconscious, police chief says

Houston Police Chief Troy Finner speaks during a press conference in Houston on November 6. (CNN)

Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said one security officer said he was stuck in the neck Friday night during Astroworld when trying to restrain a concert-goer.

"We do have a report of a security officer, according to the medical staff that was out and treated him last night, that he was reaching over to restrain or grab a citizen and he felt a prick in his neck. When he was examined, he went unconscious, they administered Narcan," Finner said during a news conference Saturday. "He was revived and the medical staff did notice a prick similar to what you would get if somebody was trying to inject. That is one part of it."

The drug naloxone is sometimes called a “save shot” or a “rescue shot” because of its ability to bring someone back from an overdose. Brand names for naloxone are Narcan and Evzio. It has long been used in hospitals and by emergency medical technicians.

4:43 p.m. ET, November 6, 2021

Houston mayor says investigation into "what went wrong" at Astroworld Festival is ongoing

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner speaks during a press conference in Houston on November 6. (CNN)

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said the investigation into the incident Friday night at the Astroworld Festival that claimed eight lives is ongoing and nothing like this has happened at a special event in the city over the last 40 years.

"This incident is being thoroughly investigated and reviewed thoroughly. It is important for us to ascertain from last night what took place, what happened, where missteps may have occurred," Turner said during a news conference Saturday afternoon. "And in so doing, there will be, there have been conversations with, for example, representatives of Live Nation. We'll continue to talk to Travis Scott's people. We'll talk to as many witnesses as we can who were present last night. We're talking with those individuals who have been hospitalized to try to get a much better understanding of what took place, what went wrong, where were the missteps."

The ages of seven of the eight victims ranged from 14 to 27, Turner said. One of the victim's ages was not yet known. Six of the eight family members have been notified, the mayor added.

Based on the information the city currently has, no one is reported missing, Turner added.

"Let me just say as it relates to what happened last night, as far as we are aware, this is, I'm not aware of any incident of this kind that has taken place at any one of our special events, on the county side or the city side, pretty much in the last 40 years," Turner said.

3:44 p.m. ET, November 6, 2021

Former Marine says he administered CPR to 2 people after taking video inside violent mosh pit

The moment Lucas Naccarati saw the mosh pit during rapper Travis Scott's Astroworld Festival performance, he knew something wasn't right.

"That was a different world. I immediately thought, 'this is not OK. Someone is going to die here," Naccarati, 26, told CNN over the phone.

Almost immediately after taking the video seen below, Naccarati said he rushed to administer CPR, which he learned while serving seven years in the Marines, to a male and female he saw pass out.

"I've never seen a mass amount of bodies dropping that fast before," he said.

Watch Naccarati's video below:

3:26 p.m. ET, November 6, 2021

Once Travis Scott took the stage, "all hell broke loose," concert-goer says

From CNN’s Maya Brown

Travis Scott performs at Astroworld Festival on Friday. (Amy Harris/Invision/AP)

Alexis Guavin has been to numerous Travis Scott performances but what she experienced at the Astroworld Festival was unlike anything she had seen before.

"I have been to many Travis shows before and am definitely aware of how insane the crowd and pits can be but this was my first Astroworld fest and I had no idea it could get like that," Guavin, 23, told CNN.

Guavin recounted what she experienced once Scott took the stage.

"Once he started, all hell broke loose. All of what is to be 50,000 people ran to the front, compressing everyone together with the little air available. Luckily, I have mosh pit experience and am 6ft tall so I could at least put my head up to breathe but others not so fortunate," she said. "There were mosh pits in every single direction. And if you weren’t in them, you were trying so hard to push to not fall in. Like I’m telling you, there was one in front, back, to the left, and to the right of you wherever you were. Front, middle, back."

2:32 p.m. ET, November 6, 2021

Video shows crowd rushing through security gates at the start of Astroworld Festival

A video taken by concert-goer Lucas Naccarati shows a large group of people rushing through the entry gates during Friday's Astroworld Festival.

"Everyone knocked down the barricade and started rushing through, a couple security tried stopping them but definitely couldn’t stop everyone," Naccarati told CNN over Twitter direct message.

Naccarati said that festival security was able to detain some of the people.

Watch the video:

2:34 p.m. ET, November 6, 2021

More than one child was transported to the hospital from Astroworld Festival

From CNN’s Rosa Flores and Maya Brown

Lil Baby performs at the Astroworld Music Festival in Houston, Texas, on November 5. (Amy Harris/Invision/AP)

Texas Children’s Hospital told CNN that more than one pediatric patient was transported to the hospital from the Astroworld Festival that turned deadly last night in Houston.

“Texas Children’s Hospital received patients from the incident at NRG last night. More information can be provided by authorities with the Houston Fire Department,” said Natasha Barrett, Texas Children’s Hospital spokesperson.

No more details were provided by the hospital. Local officials are scheduled to hold a press conference at 4 p.m. ET.

Some context: Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said during an overnight news conference that a 10-year-old child had been transported to the hospital.

The statement from Texas Children’s Hospital increases the number of children impacted by this tragic incident.

Houston’s Ben Taub Hospital received three patients from the festival, according to Harris Health System associate administer Amanda Callaway, and four people were brought to the Houston Methodist Hospital’s emergency department, according to hospital spokesperson Gale Smith.

A total of 23 people were taken to area hospitals after the incident — 11 of whom were in critical condition — and eight of them died, Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peña told CNN Saturday morning.

1:30 p.m. ET, November 6, 2021

Concert-goer during Scott's performance: "I truly thought that if I fell it would’ve been the end of me"

From CNN’s Maya Brown

What was meant to be a nice birthday gift turned out to be the exact opposite for Sarai Sierra.

Sierra attended the Astroworld Festival to celebrate her birthday with five friends and family, and vividly recalled the countdown clock to Travis Scott's performance on Friday night.

"It all started with the timer and the very odd and slightly scary music, noise that was being played on his stage," Sierra told CNN. "The noise sounded like something you could get hypnotized with and the countdown or timer would end and then start again."

When Scott appeared, the crowd began "raging," she said.

"I truly thought that if I fell it would’ve been the end of me. I spent at least 15 minutes just getting pushed around due to mosh pits or simply because people were 'raging,'" Sierra said. "I then saw a girl probably 17-18 getting carried out of the crowd who was passed out already. I saw a kid probably 14-15 who could not breathe, a girl who was probably 16 crying because she too could not breathe. In total, I saw about 20 people who could not breathe getting out of the crowd and I saw one person in front of me have a seizure."

Sierra added: "It felt like we were drowning in a pool filled of just people."

1:34 p.m. ET, November 6, 2021

Houston mayor: "We're looking at everything" to determine the cause of fatal Astroworld incident

From CNN’s Claudia Dominguez

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner speaks with CNN on Saturday. (CNN)

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner told CNN that authorities are looking into “everything” to find out what happened at the Astroworld Festival Friday night that left eight dead and dozens of others injured.

“We are certainly looking at all of the video footage, we are talking to witnesses, we are talking to event organizers,” Turner said. “This happened at one of the county facilities last night, so we’re looking at everything.”

Turner also pointed out that this is the first time this has happened in the 30 years that events have been held in City of Houston or Harris County facilities.

“I’m not aware of a single person having died from one of the events, and this city is known for putting on big events, but we do want to do a thorough debriefing here, and look at every single thing,” Turner said.

Many of the injured continue to be treated, Turner said adding that many concert-goers have been reunited with their families.

Turner also said that there were some issues with “what was occurring inside the arena," but he did not specify what those issues were.

Turner expressed his condolences to the family members of those affected by the tragedy.

Some context: At least 50,000 people attended the festival. Authorities have canceled the second day of the event that was scheduled for Saturday night.

Read the mayor's statement: