Texas Senator Ted Cruz Calls For 'Very Serious, Very Objective' Probe Into Astroworld Festival Tragedy
Texas Senator Ted Cruz has called for a "very serious" investigation into the deadly crowd stampede at the Astroworld Festival that killed eight persons in Houston on Friday.
During an interview with Fox News host Laura Ingraham on Monday night, Cruz said what happened at the Astroworld Festival was horrifying.
Ted Cruz Calls for Thorough Investigation at Astroworld Festival
According to New York Post, Ted Cruz said there's a need for "a very serious, a very credible, a very objective" investigation into what went wrong at the concert.
Cruz noted that all of the steps that could have been taken to prevent this tragedy should be reviewed. The Texas senator said the city of Houston was mourning after the tragedy.
Cruz also shared that he grew up in Houston, and he grew up going to concerts when he was still a teenager. He said he was among the crowd at concerts at the time.
Cruz then said he was thankful that they did not have the "sort of chaos and tragedy" that unfolded during the Astroworld Festival.
As he read the stories of Astroworld Festival concertgoers, who were trapped, paralyzed, and could not breathe as the crowd "kept pressing and pressing," the Republican senator believed no crowd control mechanisms were in place.
"They didn't have the ability to stop the concert," Cruz said. He noted that it was indefensible that the artists that night, like rapper Travis Scott, did not stop and intervene and rescue lives.
"We need to investigate it and make sure it never happens again," the senator said.
At least eight people were killed, and around 300 individuals were injured amid the chaos that happened during Scott's performance.
During the stampede, thousands of concert attendees found themselves trapped in the crowd and were not able to breathe under the weight of others as people pushed toward the stage.
In a statement on social media Monday, Houston Police Chief Troy Finner admitted that he met with Travis Scott before the concert kicked off to express safety concerns. Finner described the meeting as "brief and respectful."
In an interview with NBC's "Today" show Tuesday morning, Houston Fire Chief Samuel Pena said Travis Scott should "absolutely" have stopped his performance after it became clear that something was wrong in the crowd.
Pena noted that the artist had the command of that crowd, and if he noticed something bad was going on, he could "pause that performance, turn on the lights," and tell the crowd that they would not continue until everything was resolved.
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Travis Scott, Drake Face Lawsuit Over Astroworld Festival Tragedy
Travis Scott and Drake are facing a lawsuit over the Astroworld Festival tragedy. In total, two lawsuits were already slammed against Scott and Live Nation, while Drake faces one.
TMZ reported that Drake was included in the second lawsuit. The lawsuits were filed by Manuel Souza and Kristian Paredes, as they both accused the artists and Live Nation of negligence.
In the second lawsuit where Drake was included, Paredes said the security and logistics of the event did a "poor job" in keeping everyone safe during the event. Paredes also claimed that Scott and Drake helped incite the crowd that night.
Meanwhile, Souza alleged in his lawsuit that Scott was the one who incited the tragedy, but he did not specifically mention why the rapper was the one to blame. But Souza cited Scott's history of allegedly encouraging violence among fans in his previous concerts.
According to Souza, the people first stampeded their way into the NRG Park when the event was opening up. He alleged that people were climbing over security gates trampling over each other.
Souza then noted that the organizers let the show continue amid the distress. Souza is suing Travis Scott and Live Nation for at least a million dollars in damages. Paredes is also seeking at least a million dollars in damages.
This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written by: Jess Smith
WATCH: Astroworld Festival Tragedy: Why the FBI Is Now Involved in the Investigation - From KHOU 11
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