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Lawsuit filed against Travis Scott, others following Friday's deadly 'Astroworld' music festival

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Posted at 6:45 AM, Nov 08, 2021
and last updated 2021-11-08 13:37:53-05

A concertgoer who was trampled Friday during Travis Scott's performance in Houston has filed a lawsuit against the rapper and several entities involved in hosting the deadly music festival.

Eight people died, and 25 people were hospitalized Friday during Scott's performance at the Astroworld music festival.

According to KHOU-TV and CNN, attorneys with the Kherkher Garcia Law Firm filed the lawsuit Sunday on behalf of a 35-year-old man who was allegedly trampled during the concert on Friday.

The suit alleges "gross negligence" and claims that organizers failed to institute proper safety measures during the set.

"I'm hearing the word trapped. I'm hearing the words 'not being able to breathe.' I'm hearing the word 'drowning,'" attorney Ryan Macleod said according to KHOU, describing the conditions during Scott's performance Friday.

During the set Friday, concertgoers constantly rushed toward the stage, pushing fans closer and closer together and closer and closer to barriers. The stage rushing came after concertgoers jumped barriers and evaded ticket-takers hours before the performance.

CNN reports that Scott's performance began around 9 p.m. local time, at which point police began receiving calls about injuries in the crowd. Police declared a "mass casualty event" around 9:40 p.m., but Scott's performance continued until after 10 p.m.

As of Monday morning, seven of the eight people killed had been identified. The victims ranged in age from as young as 14 to as old as 27.

In a press conference Saturday, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said that an investigation into the tragedy was ongoing.

"There are a lot of unanswered questions. Over the next several days, several weeks could be even longer. We'll take an in-depth look at everything that took place," Turner said.

On Saturday evening, Scott took to his Instagram story to address the situation. Though the video expired after 24 hours, it has since been posted to other platforms, like YouTube.

"I just want to send out prayers to the ones that was lost last night," Scott said. We're actually working right now to identify the families so we can help assist them through this tough time. You know, my fans really mean the world to me, and I always just want to leave them with a positive experience, and any time I can make out anything that's going on, you know I stop the show, and you know, help them get the help they need. I could just never imagine the severity of the situation.

"We've been working closely with everyone to just try and get to the bottom of this — the city of Houston, HPD, fire department. You know, everyone that will help us figure this out. If you have any information, please just contact your local authorities.

"Everybody, continue to keep your prayers. I mean, I'm honestly just devastated. I could never imagine anything like this happening. I'm going to do everything I can to keep you guys updated and keep you guys informed on what's going on."