Travis Scott will not face criminal charges over the tragic events at Astroworld in 2021 after a grand jury in Houston, Texas made the ruling on Thursday June 29.
The rapper's attorney later confirmed the news in a statement, and added: "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," he continued.
"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.”
On November 5 2021 50,000 fans attended the Astroworld show. During Travis's performance a huge crowd surge at 9pm led to the rapper stopping the show several times to seek security and fire department assistance for those stuck in the crowd. Ten people tragically died during the incident, and hundreds more were injured.
Travis and music promoters Live Nation and ScoreMore still face hundreds of civil claims that have been brought forward by families alleging wrongful death, personal injuries, and negligence.
The 32-year-old's partner Kylie Jenner, who was pregnant with their son Aire at the time, and their daughter Stormi were at the concert.
"Travis Scott, he took pauses to point at the crowd to say, ‘Go help them — they’re passed out,'" Angel Rodriguez, told the New York Times. "He did it like three times. He pointed to the area where it was and said for everybody in the area to go help them and bring them to the front."
"I don’t think it was anyone’s fault. I just think after Covid, after quarantine, everyone just wanted to like, you know," Nick Johnson, 17, added. "It was hard for me to get good air. It was probably over 100 degrees with everyone around you."