EXCLUSIVE: Travis Scott AND Drake are sued for 'inciting the crowd' that left eight Astroworld festivalgoers dead and several others severely injured, as victim claims he begged security for help and was ignored
- Rappers Travis Scott and Drake are being sued for over a million dollars by a man who claims he was left 'severely injured' in the crowd
- Kristian Paredes, 23, from Austin, Texas, filed the complaint obtained by DailyMail.com Sunday
- According to the complaint, Drake 'came on stage alongside Travis Scott and helped incite the crowd'
- Paredes is accusing the rappers, Live Nation Entertainment Inc. and Harris County Sports and Convention Corporation of negligence
- 'The crowd became chaotic and a stampede began leaving eight dead and dozens including Kristian Paredes severely injured,' the filing states
- 'Many begged security guards hired by Live Nation Entertainment for help, but were ignored,' it says
- Texas attorney Thomas J. Henry, who is representing Paredes, said, 'There is no excuse for the events that unfolded at NRG stadium on Friday night'
- Scott previously pled guilty twice to disorderly and reckless conduct charges
A festivalgoer at Astroworld has sued Travis Scott and Drake for over a million dollars, claiming the rappers 'incited the crowd' that left him 'severely injured' and eight others dead.
Kristian Paredes, 23, from Austin, Texas, filed the complaint obtained by DailyMail.com Sunday accusing the rappers, Live Nation Entertainment Inc. and Harris County Sports and Convention Corporation of negligence.
According to the complaint, special guest Drake 'came on stage alongside Travis Scott and helped incite the crowd.'
He accuses Drake of continuing to perform with Travis Scott 'as the crowd became out of control' and 'while the crowd mayhem continued.'
Paredes is now seeking over $1million for his bodily injuries, some of which he claims is permanent, as well as medical expenses.
Scott, who said he was 'devastated' about the deaths and couldn't 'imagine anything like this happening,' has twice been convicted for encouraging fans to jump security barriers and rush the stage at previous concerts.
Rappers Travis Scott and Drake are being sued for over a million dollars by a man who claims he was left 'severely injured' in the crowd
Kristian Paredes, 23, from Austin, Texas, filed the complaint obtained by DailyMail.com Sunday
According to the complaint, Drake 'came on stage alongside Travis Scott and helped incite the crowd.' He accuses Drake of continuing to perform with Travis Scott 'as the crowd became out of control' and ' while the crowd mayhem continued'
Paredes says he was at the front of the general admission section, with just a metal barrier separating him from the VIP Section.
He says he felt an 'immediate push' as the countdown to Travis Scott's performance ended and he entered the stage around 9pm.
Texas attorney Thomas J. Henry, who is representing Paredes, said, 'There is no excuse for the events that unfolded at NRG stadium on Friday night'
'The crowd became chaotic and a stampede began leaving eight dead and dozens including Kristian Paredes severely injured,' the filing states.
'Many begged security guards hired by Live Nation Entertainment for help, but were ignored,' it says.
Paredes says in the lawsuit that the injuries and deaths are due to the 'negligence, carelessness and recklessness' of the 'defendants, their agents, servants and employees, in the ownership, management, maintenance, operation, supervision, and the control of the subject premises.'
He is seeking a trial by jury.
Texas attorney Thomas J. Henry, who is representing Paredes, said, 'There is no excuse for the events that unfolded at NRG stadium on Friday night.
'There is every indication that the performers, organizers, and venue were not only aware of the hectic crowd but also that injuries and potential deaths may have occurred. Still, they decided to put profits over their attendees and allowed the deadly show to go on.'
'Live musical performances are meant to inspire catharsis, not tragedy. Many of these concert-goers were looking forward to this event for months, and they deserved a safe environment in which to have fun and enjoy the evening. Instead, their night was one of fear, injury, and death.'
Scenes from the tragic night have unfolded on social media, showing concert goers unconscious while the rapper continued his performance.
Paredes says in the lawsuit that the injuries and deaths are due to the 'negligence, carelessness and recklessness' of the 'defendants, their agents, servants and employees, in the ownership, management, maintenance, operation, supervision, and the control of the subject premises'
Video circulating on Twitter shows fans begging the rapper to stop performing and chanting 'stop the show' as concertgoers were being knocked down and crushed by other attendees.
'Fans were recording the concert and people doing CPR. Fans were yelling at the stage crew around us, saying stop the concert, people are dying. No one listened,' ICU nurse and concert attendee Madeline Eskins told Rolling Stone.
'It was definitely overcrowded. It was insane, honestly. I knew it was just way too crowded – it just got worse and worse as I got closer to Travis Scott performing it got more crowded, more crowded, more crowded.'
She also shared that although they are not to blame for the tragedy, the event's medical staff were apparently unprepared and inexperienced.
'Some of these medical staff had little to no experience with CPR - didn't know how to check a pulse, carotid or femoral,' Eskins shared on Instagram.
'Compressions were being done without a pulse check so ppl who had a pulse were getting CPR, but meanwhile there was not enough people to rotate out doing compressions on individuals that were actually pulseless. The medical staff didn't have the tools to do their jobs and despite the crowd around us trying to get someone to stop the concert they just kept going, even though Travis acknowledged that someone in the crowed needed an ambulance.'
Afterwards, the rapper was seen sobbing. A source close to him told Page Six that he had 'no idea what was going on, he was on stage performing'.
'He's beside himself, I've never heard him like that. He was in tears,' the source added.
Social media video shows fans begging Travis Scott to stop his Astroworld Festival Friday night during the crowd surge that left at least eight death and hundreds injured. The crowd chanted 'stop the show' as concertgoers were being knocked down and crushed by other attendees
Rapper Travis Scott continued to perform his 75-minute set at Astroworld on Friday night as eight people were killed and hundreds injured in a crowd surge
Friday's deaths raised eyebrows over footage showing multiple incidents of crowds stampeding towards Scott at prior performances at Lollapalooza in Chicago in 2015 and at an outdoor venue in Arkansas in 2017. Both incidents resulted in misdemeanor convictions for Scott.
A fan who was paralyzed after falling from a balcony during a Scott concert in 2017 has blasted the singer for putting fans' safety at risk.
A lawyer for Kyle Green, a 27-year-old who was injured at Scott's April 2017 concert at Terminal 5 in New York City, says that Green was 'devastated and heartbroken' for the families of the eight people who died at Scott's Friday night concert.
Green says he was forced over the edge of a balcony at the venue, which he called 'severely crowded.' He broke several bones and vertebrae and can only walk with a 'significant, significant disability.'
Kyle Green, 27, was left partially paralyzed at a Travis Scott show after Scott encouraged another fan to jump off a balcony. He says Friday's deaths could have been avoided 'had Travis learned his lesson'
NYC 2017: Green ended up partially paralyzed after cracking several vertebrae when rowdy fans rushed the balcony of Terminal 5 in New York in May 2017. Scott egged one fan to jump. In video of the incident, one concertgoer can be heard saying, 'I don't wanna die in here.'
CHICAGO 2015: Scott pled guilty to misdemeanor reckless conduct after his fans jumped a security barricade at the Lollapalooza festival in Chicago
ARKANSAS 2017: Scott encouraged fans to go past security and rush the stage at a May 2017 show in Arkansas. He pled guilty to disorderly conduct the next year
Tickets to the two-day Astroworld festival sold out in under an hour in May, when Scott announced in a since-deleted tweet: 'We still sneaking the wild ones in'
In a statement to DailyMail.com, Green's attorney Howard Hershenhorn said that Scott's security picked Green up 'like a sack of potatoes' instead of 'putting him in a neck brace and on the backboard.'
'He’s even more incensed by the fact that it could have been avoided had Travis learned his lesson in the past and changed his attitude about inciting people to behave in such a reckless manner,' Hershenhorn told Rolling Stone.
At the 2017 show, Scott had encouraged another fan to jump off the balcony.
'I see you, but are you gonna do it?' Scott asked. 'They gonna catch you. Don't be scared. Don’t be scared!'
In video of the incident, one fan can be heard saying, 'I don't wanna die in here.'
Green sued Scott, his manager, concert promoter Bowery Presents and a security company six months after the incident while he was still confined to a wheelchair. The case is pending.
In August 2015, the 29-year-old, who is dating Kylie Jenner, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of reckless conduct after his fans jumped a security barricade at the Lollapalooza festival in Chicago.
The Office of Emergency Management said at the time: 'The performer played one song and then began telling fans to come over the barricades. Due to the security's quick response, the situation was remedied immediately and no fans were injured.
John Hilgert, 14, was the youngest victim of the horrific crush which killed eight people at Friday night's Astroworld Festival in Houston
Danish Baig, 27 (left), was killed at Travis Scott's Astroworld after saving a relative during the stampede on Friday, his brother said. Franco Patino, 21 (right), also died, the University of Dayton said
Brianna Rodriguez, 16, (left) was a dancer and junior in high school. Rodolfo 'Rudy' Pena, 23,(right) was an aspiring model and dreamed of one day being a US Border Patrol agent. He died of cardiac arrest
Scott paid a $7,465 fine after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct for encouraging fans to rush the stage at a May 2017 concert in Arkansas
The performer fled the scene but was arrested shortly after, according to station WLS.
'All my real ragers jump the barricade right now. Let's go. Come over,' he said at the 2015 show as his young fans obliged. 'I want chaos.' Hundreds were seen storming towards the stage, although there were no reports of anyone being injured.
In February 2018, he pled guilty to another misdemeanor charge - this one for disorderly conduct - after he encouraged his fans to rush the stage and bypass security at a May 2017 concert at the Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion in the city of Rogers.
Scott paid a 7,465.31 fine, according to KFSM.
The Rogers Police Department said several people were injured during the rush and treated on the scene by the fire department and staff from a local hospital.
Weeks before that, a fan at a Scott concert in Manhattan says he was carried over the side of a balcony after the rapper asked fans to rush forward, and was subsequently paralyzed as a result.
Meanwhile, at Atstroworld Festival on Friday, witnesses allege Scott, 29, continued to perform after eight people were crushed to death - including two victims aged just 14 and 16 - in what one witness described as a 'floor of bodies'.
Although he completed his 75-minute performance, at one point Scott was filmed calling for help. In another video he stood on a platform with his microphone while chaos unfolded beneath him.
Approximately 50,000 people attended the sold-out Astroworld event at Houston's NRG Park. Witnesses said the chaos broke out after Scott took the stage to perform.
Eskins, who said this was her third time attending Astroworld, said she thought she was going to die: 'I looked at my boyfriend and I was about to tell my boyfriend to tell my son I loved him because I did not think I would make it out of there. And I fainted.
'I tried to jump up as much as I could to get air. I couldn't breathe. I just felt it. I knew it was coming.'
'Everything was normal up until when Travis posted the time he was going to get onstage,' attendee Donovon Davis, 22, of Houston, said. 'That's when it just got wild.'
'The crowd was moving so violently that people fell on top of us, and when they fell, people fell on top of them. There was layers and layers and layers of people falling.'
Davis continued: 'I turned to pick him up, and I could hear him screaming for help. The music hadn't started yet. And then the crowd just moved me, and I saw a wave of people just walk over him.'
Emergency personnel respond to Atsroworld Festival Friday night after receiving reports of the deadly crush
Medics are seen transporting patients as they conduct CPR
Other videos from the night showed distraught fans begging concert staff to halt the performance and help people escape the surge.
'People are f***ing dying, I want to save somebody's life,' a man said as he climbed on a platform where a cameraman was filming the performance.
'That's somebody's kid! I want to save them!' he screamed - but to no avail.'
Another clip showed the same man climbing up towards the cameraman joined by a woman pleading with the staff member to stop the concert.
Although inaudible, the cameraman was evidently trying to shoo the revelers off the platform and back into the crowd.
Eskins described her experience at Astroworld on Instagram. She offered specific examples of how the medical staff allegedly handled the chaos
Festival goers are seen rushing into the VIP area prior to Travis Scott performing
In yet another graphic video an unconscious young man was surrounded by Houston police officers who guided him onto the ground. They rolled the man onto his side while shining lights into his eyes.
Police investigating the deadly crush say a crazed man injected at least one person with opioids during the chaos.
Houston Chief of Police Troy Finner made the shocking claim at a press conference Saturday after hours of rumors about the Astroworld Fest tragedy, and Mayor of Houston Sylvester Turner revealed the victims were aged between 14 and 27.
'One of the narratives was that some individual was injecting other people with drugs. We do have a report of a security officer, according to the medical staff that was out and treated him last night,' Houston Chief of Police Troy Finner said at Saturday's conference.
'He was reaching over to restrain or grab a citizen and he felt a prick in his neck.
'He went unconscious, they administered Narcan. He was revived, and medical staff did notice a prick similar to a prick you would get if somebody was trying to inject,' he added.
It is unclear what drug was injected into the security guard, although Narcan is used to revive people who've overdosed on opioids, including fentanyl.
Although he completed his 75-minute performance, at one point Scott was filmed calling for help. In another video he stood on a platform with his microphone while chaos unfolded beneath him
Around 2pm hundreds of fans stormed the festival's VIP entrance. About seven hours later the surge in front of the main stage killed eight people but the two events appear to be unrelated
The surge happened at 9.15pm and Pena said in a news conference on Saturday afternoon that the 'mass casualty incident' was declared at 9.15pm. Nearly an hour later, at 10.10pm, the concert producer Live Nation halted the show.
Mayor Turner then confirmed that of the eight who were killed two were under 18, two were 21, two were 23, one was 27 and one victim's age remains unknown.
He also said that 25 people in total were transported to the hospital after the 'tragic event' and 13 are still hospitalized, including five that are under the age of 18.
Distressing video showed an unconscious male concertgoer being rushed to a medical assistance area after he passed out in the crush, which happened after people surged towards the stage shortly after 9.15pm CST Friday night.
Earlier on Friday, hundreds of people were seen stampeding through the event's VIP entrance without being checked, sparking fears of overcrowding.
As the chaos unfolded the rapper even appeared to glance in the direction of passed-out fans as the show went on. Scott halted the performance at least once was filmed calling for security to help distressed fans in the front row.
Houston Chief of Police Troy Finner announced during a press conference Saturday (pictured) that a crazed man injected at least one person with opioids during the chaos. It also remains unclear if that incident was connected to the deadly crush that also left 25 in hospital
Mayor Turner said the investigation remains active with the police department's homicide and narcotics team, adding that the local government is also speaking with spokespeople from the concert's producer Live Nation Worldwide and Live Nation Entertainment.
'We will probably be at it for quite some time to determine exactly what happened,' Turner said.
Houston Police executive assistant Chief Larry Satterwhite, who was near the front of the crowd, said the surge 'happened all at once'.
'Suddenly we had several people down on the ground, experiencing some type of cardiac arrest or some type of medical episode,' Satterwhite said. 'And so we immediately started doing CPR and moving people right then.'
Satterwhite said promoters quickly agreed to end the event 'in the interest of public safety'.
In a tweet posted Saturday, Scott said he was 'absolutely devastated by what took place last night'.
He pledged to work 'together with the Houston community to heal and support the families in need.'
Meanwhile, a memorial is growing outside of NRG Park.
People placed letters, balloons and bouquets at the gate by the venue.
'I wanted to set it up, just cause the lives lost,' Matthew, who set up the makeshift memorial, told KPRC's Rilwan Balogun.
People placed letters, balloons and bouquets at the gate by the venue
Flowers are placed Saturday outside of the canceled Astroworld festival at NRG Park
'The community right now, from everybody that left #AstroWorld is definitely split, something to bring us together.'
He continued: 'Even the online community come together just to come over here, to put something down.'
Astroworld organizers canceled the rest of the festival, scheduled to continue on Saturday.
'Our hearts are with the Astroworld Festival family tonight - especially those we lost and their loved ones,' they said on the event's Instagram page. 'We are focused on supporting local officials'.
Travis Scott founded the Astroworld Festival in 2018.
PICTURED: Dancer, 16, a college student, a 27-year-old who sacrificed himself to save a relative and a Texas man who are among 8 killed at Travis Scott's Astroworld Festival
Victims, aged 14 to 27, who were among the eight killed at Travis Scott's Astroworld festival Friday have been identified, while one's brother slammed the 'poorly' managed event ran by 'horrible' people.
Danish Baig, 27, was one of people who died after a surge at the concert. University of Dayton student Franco Patino, 21, a senior, also died at day one of the Astroworld festival at NRG Park in Houston, Texas, the school said.
Baig was killed after trying to save a relative during the stampede at the concert, his brother Basil Baig confirmed on Facebook.
'My brother was killed in this horrendous Astroworld event that was managed poorly and supervised by such horrible people,' Basil wrote on Facebook.
He commended his late brother for his 'courageous act' and called him a 'beautiful soul.'
Others whose deaths have been confirmed to various news outlets are 14-year-old John Hilgert, 16-year-old Brianna Rodriguez and Rodolfo 'Rudy' Peña, 23.
Danish Baig, 27 (left), was killed at Travis Scott's Astroworld after saving a relative during the stampede on Friday, his brother said. Franco Patino, 21 (right), also died, the University of Dayton said
Brianna Rodriguez, 16, (left) was a dancer and junior in high school. Rodolfo 'Rudy' Pena, 23,(right) was an aspiring model and dreamed of one day being a US Border Patrol agent. He died of cardiac arrest
'My brother tried to save my sister in law from these horrendous acts that were being done to her in the process he lost his life,' Basil wrote.
'My brother Danish Baig [is] a beautiful soul whos[e] smile would light up the room and put everyone before himself. Last night he showed his courageous act to save my sister in law from those horrendous things that were being done.
'I was there and I wasn't able to save my brother.'
Basil reported that people were 'hitting,' 'pushing' and 'shoving' and 'did not care for anyone's life.'
He also alleged that superstar rapper and baby daddy to Kylie Jenner's daughter Stormi 'provoked these people and made them do just that [stampede] and more he called people to the stage to jump into the crowd and did not stop the show.'
Basil also said this was not the end my family and I will go to the Full extent to make sure he is brought to justice.'
His brother Basil (second left) confirmed his brother's (left) death on Facebook and called what he did a 'courageous act'
21-year-old Patino was a student at the University of Dayton in southern Ohio, where he studied engineering
Brianna, pictured with her mother, was killed at the event
Pena died of cardiac arrest after being injured at the show
On Saturday, the family of 16-year-old Brianna Rodriguez confirmed that she was one of the eight victims who died
University of Dayton student Franco Patino, 21, also died at the event.
Patino was a huge fan of the rapper and travelled from Southern Ohio to Houston for the event with his best friend to celebrate his friend's birthday, according to WGN9.
The college senior was studying engineering and was a member of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers and the Alpha Psi Lambda.
Patino was a part of the society's special interest house, which he worked with fellow student Andy Prieto to create.
'Andy and I worked together day and night to make this dream come true because we believed it was a necessity to have a house for Hispanics to come together and have a little piece of familiar culture in a predominantly white institution,' Patino said in an article about the society on the university's website.
John Hilgret, 14, of Hunters Creek Village, was the youngest person to die at the concert. His death was confirmed on Saturday by officials at Memorial High School, where he was a freshman student.
Scott shared a message on his Instagram on Saturday, where he told fans he was 'devastated' and was 'working closely with authorities'
Hilgret attended Friday's concert with his long-time friend, Robby Hendrix, 15.
Hendrix's mother, Tracy Faulkner, bought her son's ticket it for his birthday and 'ultimately regrets the decision.'
'Everything about that night was a tragedy,' Faulkner told the Houston Chronicle. 'They were both in the same place at the same time and one came home and one we will never see.'
She said Hilgret and Hendrix had known each other for years and played football together.
'John was a good student and athlete and so polite. He was the sweetest and smartest young man,' she shared.
Eight people were killed at the event after a crowd surge happened
One witness described it as a 'floor of bodies' and fans were screaming at to 'stop the show'
Two others were identified by their families to have died at the tragic event.
Brianna Rodriguez, 16, People confirmed, and Rodolfo 'Rudy' Peña, 23, confirmed by the Laredo Morning Times, were among the eight.
Rodriguez was a dancer and a junior in high school.
'Gone from our sites, but never from our hearts,' her wrote family on Facebook.
Her family started a GoFundMe to help with funeral expenses. It has raised $8,910 out of its $30,000 goal.
Pena was an aspiring model and had dreams of becoming a U.S. Border Patrol agent, according to USA Today.
Pena drove five hours from Laredo to Houston with his friends to attend the show, where he died of cardiac arrest.
Pena's sister told the Laredo Morning Times: 'My brother was the sweetest person, friendly, outgoing, he had many friends because he was always there for everyone. Yes, he was a big fan of Travis, he loved his music.'
Approximately 50,000 people attended the sold-out Astroworld Festival at NRG Park on Friday. Witnesses said the chaos broke out after Scott took the stage to perform.
The surge happened at 9:15 p.m. and the 'mass casualty incident' was declared at that time. Nearly an hour later, at 10:10 p.m., the concert producer Live Nation halted the show.
Earlier on Friday, hundreds of people were filmed stampeding through a VIP entrance at the Live Nation-organized event, sparking fears of overcrowding and poor crowd control.
Scott, 29, continued to perform after eight people were crushed to death - including two victims aged just 14 and 16 - in what one witness described as a 'floor of bodies.'
Video circulating on Twitter shows fans chanting 'stop the show' as concertgoers were being knocked down and crushed by other attendees.
Although he completed his 75-minute performance, at one point Scott was filmed calling for help. In another video he stood on a platform with his microphone while chaos unfolded beneath him.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner revealed during a press conference Saturday that the dead ranged in age from 14 to 27. Police are currently working to identify the victims and notify their families. Their cause of death has not yet been determined.
As the chaos unfolded the rapper, who completed his show, even appeared to glance in the direction of passed-out fans as the show went on. Scott halted the performance at least once was filmed calling for security to help distressed fans in the front row.
Meanwhile, Scott's girlfriend Kylie Jenner, who is pregnant with their second child and attended the event, was blasted online for posting a clip of an ambulance tending to the injured and dead as the chaos unfolded.
But other videos from the night showed distraught fans begging concert staff to halt the performance and help people escape the surge.
'People are f***ing dying, I want to save somebody's life,' a man said as he climbed on a platform where a cameraman was filming the performance.
'That's somebody's kid! I want to save them!' he screamed - but to no avail. Astroworld Fest's organizers offered their condolences to the families of those killed in a statement Saturday, and appealed for anyone with information to contact Houston Police.
Meanwhile, TMZ reported that a 'key person' connected to Astroworld said that Friday night was actually the result of a 'targeted attack' after 'someone in the crowd went crazy and began injecting people with some sort of drug, which caused panic and then a surge.'
Cops said they're keeping an open mind, although Houston's fire chief says he thinks the tragedy was caused by a crush.
According to the Houston Chronicle Friday's deadly incident was not the first time the concert's producer Live Nation Worldwide and Live Nation Entertainment has come under scrutiny for OSHA safety and antitrust violations.
The live-entertainment company - which puts on 40,000 shows per year, according to its website, and which Billboard has cited as the world's largest - has faced charges relating to 16 violations and has paid more than $83million in penalties.
Scott spoke about the event on his Instagram on Saturday, stating that he was 'devastated' and is working closely with authorities.
'My fans really mean the world to me and I always want to leave them with a positive experience,' Scott, 29, said on his Instagram stories Saturday.
'Anytime I can make out anything that's going on, ya 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.'
The crowd at the Houston-based music festival surged toward the stage during Scott's performance, knocking other concertgoers over and squeezing them together so tightly that they could not breathe or move their arms.
'To the ones that was lost last night, we're working right now to ID the families so we can help assist them through this tough time,' the rapper shared.
'I'm honestly just devastated… I could never imagine anything like this just happening.'
Scott said he is working closely with local authorities as they investigate the crowd surge and encouraged anyone with information about the deadly incident.
He promised his followers he would continue to keep them informed about the investigation and told them: 'Every just continue to keep your prayers.'
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMie2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmRhaWx5bWFpbC5jby51ay9uZXdzL2FydGljbGUtMTAxNzUyODEvVHJhdmlzLVNjb3R0LURyYWtlLXN1ZWQtaW5jaXRpbmctY3Jvd2QtbGVmdC1laWdodC1mZXN0aXZhbGdvZXJzLWRlYWQuaHRtbNIBAA?oc=5
2021-11-07 21:39:09Z
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