Organizers of Travis Scott‘s Astroworld Fest expressed concern about the event weeks before it went down. According to the Houston Chronicle, Scoremore Shows, the promoter behind the festival, and Harris County officials were worried about whether they’d have enough security and medical staff for the 50,000-person crowd and were expected to hire more help. It’s not clear whether they actually did.
Also mentioned in the Houston report was the fact that organizers failed to broadcast safety messages during the event.
As previously reported by REVOLT, ten individuals passed away after being trampled during Scott’s festival last month. As fans rushed toward the front of the stage, hundreds were also injured and treated by emergency responders at the event. At one point, medical staff found themselves having to treat 11 cardiac arrests at once. Security at the concert was also questionable.
During an interview with Rolling Stone, Darius Williams, who was hired to work security at Astroworld, revealed he got the job with no experience. “It felt like they just needed bodies like they were hiring anyone who passed a background test,” he said. He revealed that the security team completed both orientation and training on the day before the festival but received “pretty vague” instructions on how to deal with the large crowd. On the day of the event, he realized they were also “severely understaffed” and pulled out of the gig for his own safety.
“It seemed crazy and super-rushed,” Williams said. “I felt like my safety was in jeopardy. I needed the cash and wanted to be part of a fun event, but I had a bad feeling, so I decided to leave.” Jackson Bush, another Astroworld security guard, said that the tragic aftermath of the festival “could have been avoided” if the staff was given proper training. “If we were all prepared the right way, that stuff wouldn’t have happened the way it did,” he said during an interview NewsNation.