Rapper Travis Scott is not going to face prison prices in lethal crowd surge at Texas competition

HOUSTON — A Texas grand jury declined to indict rap famous person Travis Scott in a prison investigation of a lethal crowd surge on the 2021 Astroworld competition, the place some spectators have been packed so tightly they may not transfer their arms and even breathe, his legal professional and prosecutors mentioned Thursday.

Lawyer Kent Schaffer confirmed that the Harris County grand jury had met and determined to not indict his consumer on any prison prices stemming from the live performance.

“He never encouraged people to do anything that resulted in other people being hurt,” Schaffer mentioned, including that the choice is “a great relief.”

Circumstances of the deaths restricted what prices prosecutors have been capable of current earlier than the grand jury, eliminating potential counts equivalent to homicide, manslaughter and criminally negligent murder, mentioned Alycia Harvey, an assistant district legal professional with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.

That left prosecutors to deal with attainable counts of endangering a baby in reference to the deaths of the 2 youngest concertgoers, ages 9 and 14, she added.

“The grand jury … found that no crime did occur, that no single individual was criminally responsible,” Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg mentioned.

The Nov. 5, 2021, crowd surge in Houston killed 10 younger festivalgoers who ranged in age from 9 to 27. The official explanation for dying was compression asphyxia, which an skilled likened to being crushed by a automobile.

Roughly 300 folks have been injured and handled on the scene, and 25 have been taken to hospitals.

Houston police and federal officers have been investigating whether or not Scott, live performance promoter Live Nation and others had enough security measures in place.

During a information convention Thursday afternoon after the grand jury’s resolution, police offered varied particulars from their investigation together with a timeline of occasions throughout Scott’s efficiency, the placement on the live performance website the place the deaths occurred and video exhibiting areas the place crowds of individuals collapsed on one another.

But Police Chief Troy Finner declined to say what the general conclusion of his company’s investigation was or whether or not police ought to have stopped the live performance sooner. Finner mentioned police plan to make the greater than 1,000-page report within the case public so folks can learn all the data investigators reviewed.

“The chief of police is not going to get up here and point fingers at anybody. I respect the grand jury’s decision. I simply want people to read (the offense report), read the entire investigation and everybody will see, very, very complicated,” Finner mentioned.

Schaffer mentioned he feels sympathy for individuals who have been killed on the competition and their households.

“But Travis is not responsible,” Schaffer mentioned. “Bringing criminal charges against him will not ease their pain.”

The grand jury declined to indict 5 different folks, together with competition supervisor Brent Silberstein. An legal professional for Silberstein didn’t instantly reply to an e mail looking for remark.

More than 500 lawsuits have been filed over the deaths and accidents on the live performance, together with many in opposition to Live Nation and Scott. Some have since been settled.

Kevin Haynes, a Houston legal professional whose agency is representing tons of of individuals injured on the live performance, mentioned he was disillusioned by the grand jury’s resolution however the civil circumstances will proceed “to ensure responsible parties are held accountable in the ongoing pursuit of justice.”

About 50,000 folks attended the competition.

A 56-page occasion operations plan for the occasion had detailed protocols for varied harmful situations together with a taking pictures, bomb or terrorist threats and extreme climate. But it didn’t embrace info on what to do within the occasion of a crowd surge.

In November, a process power unveiled a brand new settlement that native officers, public security businesses and promoters mentioned will clearly define the obligations of all events concerned in such occasions to make sure they’re secure.

Finner mentioned Thursday that elevated platforms are actually necessary at such exhibits and they are going to be staffed by Houston police, firefighters and others who will all have authority to halt an occasion in the event that they see issues.