Travis Scott won’t face criminal charges in connection with the deadly crowd surge at his Astroworld festival in 2021.
A grand jury declined to indict the rap superstar on Thursday, more than one year since 10 people were killed at the Houston concert.
“It is tragic that 10 innocent people were killed while trying to enjoy an evening of music and entertainment, something many of us do routinely and without a second thought to our safety. But a tragedy isn’t always a crime, and not every death is a homicide,” Harris County DA Kim Ogg said in a press release. “This grand jury’s determination has no impact on the many civil lawsuits pending.”
Scott’s attorney, Kent Shaffer, issued a statement on the decision to NBC News, saying that he believes it confirms the “Sicko Mode” artist is not responsible for the tragedy that took place.
Victims From Travis Scott’s Astroworld Music Festival Crowd Surge Remembered at Memorial
View Gallery“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,” Shaffer said. “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.”
Scott and his legal team have consistently maintained that he had no knowledge of the gravity of the situation until hours after wrapping his set around 10 p.m. Sources close to Scott told NBC News at the time that he “immediately” left an afterparty at Dave & Buster’s upon learning that multiple deaths and injuries had taken place while he performed.
An estimated 50,000 people were in attendance for the sold-out, two-day festival. Officials confirmed in a press conference the next day that a “mass casualty incident” had been declared shortly after 9:30 p.m. The fatalities affected victims ranging in age from 9 to 27.
Scott and festival organizers have been named in multiple lawsuits that were consolidated in Texas state court. The family of one person killed reportedly settled with the defendants while other suits remain pending.
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