Rapper Travis Scott has been cleared of criminal liability for the 10 deaths that occurred in a crowd while performing at a festival in 2021, authorities in Houston, Texas, reported Thursday.
“In this case, the grand jury of the 228th Circuit Court of Harris County [en Texas] It was determined that no crime had been committed and that no person was criminally responsible“District Attorney Kim Ogg told reporters.
Other people associated with the development of the so-called Astroworld Festival at NRG Park in Houston in the southern United States, which Scott created and launched in 2018, have also been cleared of the charges.
The tragedy happened on November 5, 2021, during the presentation of Scott in front of around 50,000 visitors.
As reported by firefighters at the time, the incidents began when the crowd began pushing against the stage, causing panic, causing injuries, people falling or knocking out.
According to the forensic investigations, the ten people died from suffocation, including a child under the age of 9. There were dozens injured, including minors. Several lawsuits have been filed against Scott and the organizers, alleging negligence in the planning of the festival.
“It is tragic that ten innocent people died I’m trying to enjoy an evening of music and fun (…) But tragedy isn’t always a crime and death isn’t always a murder,” Ogg added in a statement released by his office.
According to witness testimony and information from the press, Scott finished the show an hour after it started, amid the confusion and the arrival of ambulances.
The artist’s rep, Ted Anastasiou, told CNN on Thursday that Travis Scott had been chosen. inaccurate and erroneous of a crime, although he stopped his show three times not knowing what was happening under the stage.
For his part, Scott’s attorney, Kent Schaffer, told the same television network that “from a criminal point of view”There are no proceedings against his defendant, who is fulfilling obligations abroad and to whom he has already informed the news. “A great burden is lifted from his shoulders. He looks forward to returning home soon after the grand jury release,” he added.