Every tragedy has its victims and foremost in our minds, as well as the minds of anyone connected with large scale events, are those that lost their lives or were injured at the Astroworld event.
Franco Patino, 21; John Hilgert, 14; Brianna Rodriguez, 16; Rudy Peña, 23; Danish Baig, 27; Jacob E. Jurinek, 20; Axel Acosta, 21; and an as-yet unnamed 8th victim all lost their lives.
Travis Scott, the event’s founder and headliner, expressed his heartbreak and devastation in a video posted on Instagram. With lawsuits already filed by some of those injured, comment from organisers and promoters, ScoreMore and Live Nation haven’t been immediately available.
News reports have entered speculation phase, with many using analysis of footage uploaded by audience members. The US based Event Safety Alliance (ESA) released an initial statement on Instagram yesterday saying:
“Last night at Astroworld, a festival held at NRG Stadium in Houston, at least eight people died and more than 300 others received medical treatment in a crowd crush during Travis Scott’s performance. Because we have seen too many heart-breaking incidents like this before, it is tempting to rush to judgment about the causes of this one. Let’s do better than that. Let’s ask the right questions first, then see what the facts reveal.”
In a blog post, Lawyer and ESA Vice President Steve Adelman outlined the areas in which those questions might be asked.
While we wait for speculation to recede and facts to emerge, we know that we have the ability and capability to prevent such tragedies.
