Travis Scott should have "absolutely" halted his show to try to prevent the deadly crowd surge at the concert if he knew about the chaos that was unfolding, a local fire chief said on Tuesday, November 8.
As reported by BBC News, panic ensued on the opening night of the Texas festival as the crowd rushed and pushed towards the front of the stage, emergency officials have said.
According to reports, eleven people were transported to hospitals in cardiac arrest as eight people tragically died. Some people were also treated on-site at the NRG Park, at the temporary field hospital.
Now, Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peña has spoken out about the tragedy, telling The Today Show: "We all have a responsibility. Everybody at that event has a responsibility starting from the artist on down."
Peña said that a performing artist has "command of that crowd."
He went on: "In my opinion, and this is my opinion right now because everything is going to be fleshed out throughout this investigation, but certainly, the artist, if he notices something that's going on, he can certainly pause that performance, turn on the lights and say, 'Hey we're not going to continue until this thing is resolved.' That's one way to do it."
Authorities declared a "mass casualty" event at the concert shortly after 9:30 PM, but it's reported that Scott kept playing for more than 30 minutes after that.
"There was evidence that the crowd itself was trying to approach some of their private security, some of their security that was closer to that stage, that something was wrong," Peña said, adding: "At one point there was an ambulance trying to make its way through the crowd."
When asked by host Savannah Guthrie whether there was any reason to believe that Scott initiated the deadly crowd surge, Peña responded, "No, not at this point. I'm not prepared to say that."
"I am not prepared to say that he was fully aware of what was going on," he added.
Scott in a statement through his team said he would pay the funeral costs of those who have died, CNN reports.
The rapper - who is expecting his second child with Kylie Jenner - will also partner with the online therapy service BetterHelp to provide free therapy to those who attended his festival, according to the statement.
"Travis remains in active conversations with the city of Houston, law enforcement, and local first responders to respectfully and appropriately connect with the individuals and families of those involved," the statement said.
"These are the first of many steps Travis plans on taking as a part of his personal vow to assist those affected throughout their grieving and recovery process," the statement concluded.
Scott took to social media over the weekend, writing: "I'm absolutely devastated by what took place last night. My prayers go out to the families and all those impacted by what happened at Astroworld Festival."
