Eight dead in Houston concert crowd surge

Eight people were killed and dozens of others injured on Friday night during a crowd surge at the Astroworld music festival in Houston. The festival, headlined by Grammy-nominated rapper Travis Scott, had drawn an estimated 50,000 people for a scheduled two-day lineup. But during a performance by Scott on Friday evening, raucous fans pushed forward toward the stage, causing some to lose consciousness or go into cardiac arrest. During the concert on Friday, Scott paused onstage several times when he noticed a problem in the crowd, at one point saying, “Security, somebody help real quick.”

How have authorities responded? Officials in Houston said emergency responders took 17 people to the hospital for treatment, some as young as 10 years old, but didn’t immediately give causes of death for those killed. According to reports, emergency vehicles drove between the crowds several times during the concert to try to help victims. “It was hard for me to get good air,” concertgoer Nick Johnson told The New York Times. “It was probably over 100 degrees with everyone around you.” Police said they would investigate what caused the crowd surge. Festival organizers have canceled the remainder of the event.

Dig deeper: Read Onize Ohikere’s report about a stampede at a religious festival in Israel that killed dozens of people earlier this year.