Enlarge image
Festival grounds in Houston
Photo: KEN MURRAY / EPA
The clarification of the circumstances surrounding the deadly crowd at a festival in Houston, Texas continues.
Now the police chief of the US metropolis has spoken out.
Troy Finner stated on Monday evening (local time) that he had talked to Travis Scott shortly before his show.
The policeman said that he also came up with possible security problems.
When rapper Scott appeared at the Astroworld Festival on Saturday, eight people were killed in a mass panic.
Hundreds of people were injured.
Finner now said he had met with Scott and his personal security chief.
“The meeting was brief and respectful.
It gave me the opportunity, as the chief of police, to voice my public safety concerns, ”he wrote on Twitter.
He did not make it clear what exactly these concerns related to.
Scott, who is also the organizer of the festival, had interrupted his performance several times to draw attention to viewers who needed help.
However, despite the escalation in the audience, he brought his show to an end, which has now earned him harsh criticism.
Criminal investigations are currently going in different directions.
Officials from the homicide and drug squads are involved.
The police said they were evaluating video recordings to investigate the cause of the mass panic.
"Within a few minutes, several people went down and had a kind of cardiac arrest," the investigators said.
Several concert-goers apparently suffered from an overdose and had to be resuscitated with the drug Narcan.
Among them was a security officer who had apparently been injected with a substance in the throat by a concert-goer.
Police opened a criminal investigation into the area as well, following several unconfirmed reports after a guest injected drugs into other people.
First lawsuit filed against the musician
Visitors to the festival reported chaotic scenes.
"People were pushed and trampled, and as I fought my way out, I saw people lying on the ground," said a concert-goer of the AFP news agency.
Videos showed paramedics resuscitating unconscious fans in the middle of the audience as the festival went on.
According to the fire brigade, 50,000 visitors followed the concert.
Travis Scott commented on the events on Saturday with a message distributed via Twitter.
He was absolutely devastated and prayed for the families and all those affected.
He assured the police of his full support.
In at least one case, there is already a civil lawsuit against a person seeking to hold Scott liable for injuries sustained.
jok / Reuters