Rapper Travis Scott questioned over lethal crowd surge at Texas pageant in wave of lawsuits

By Associated Press

HOUSTON: Rap celebrity Travis Scott was questioned for a number of hours on Monday in a civil deposition he gave in reference to a whole lot of lawsuits that have been filed towards him and others over the deaths and accidents on the 2021 Astroworld pageant.

Scott was questioned in Houston throughout a deposition that lasted round eight hours, two folks with information concerning the litigation stated.

Lawyers and others linked to the civil lawsuits are underneath a gag order, stopping them from saying little past what occurs throughout courtroom hearings.

“Travis Scott’s deposition is typical legal procedure. What is not typical is how the media continues to focus on him despite being cleared of any wrongdoing by extensive government investigations, including by the Houston Police Department,” Ted Anastasiou, a spokesperson for Scott, said in a statement. “Travis is fully cooperating with the legal process while still remaining committed to his tour in support of his record-breaking album, ‘Utopia,’ and his charitable efforts to support at-risk communities.”

Following an investigation by Houston Police, no expenses have been filed towards Scott after a grand jury in June declined to indict him and 5 different folks on any legal counts associated to the lethal live performance. Police Chief Troy Finner declined to say what the general conclusion of his company’s investigation was.

In July, the police division made public its almost 1,300-page investigative report during which pageant employees highlighted issues and warned of potential lethal penalties.

According to a abstract within the investigative report of a police interview carried out two days after the live performance, Scott informed investigators that though he did see one particular person close to the stage getting medical consideration, total the gang appeared to be having fun with the present and he didn’t see any indicators of great issues.

This was the primary time Scott was questioned by attorneys for many who have filed lawsuits since a crowd surge at his Nov. 5, 2021, live performance in Houston killed 10 festivalgoers.

Those killed, who ranged in age from 9 to 27, died from compression asphyxia, which an skilled likened to being crushed by a automobile.

Similar crushes have occurred all around the world, from a soccer stadium in England to the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia to Halloween festivities within the South Korean capital. Most individuals who die in crowd surges suffocate.

Scott’s deposition comes as a decide earlier this yr scheduled the primary trial of the lawsuits for May 6, 2024. That first trial would happen almost 2.5 years after the lethal live performance.

Documents filed in courtroom in April listed greater than 1,500 energetic circumstances, lots of which have been filed towards Scott and Live Nation, the live performance promoter.

Of these, 992 have been circumstances with bodily accidents and 313 have been circumstances of “emotional distress, pain, suffering and mental anguish.” Orthopaedic surgical procedures have been accomplished in 17 of those circumstances, with different surgical procedures advisable in one other 21.

Some of the lawsuits have since been settled, together with these filed by the households of three of the folks killed in the course of the live performance.

Scott’s deposition on Monday befell on the identical day that hip-hop artist Drake, who carried out a number of songs with Scott in the course of the Astroworld live performance, was performing in Houston. Drake was additionally sued in reference to the lethal live performance.

HOUSTON: Rap celebrity Travis Scott was questioned for a number of hours on Monday in a civil deposition he gave in reference to a whole lot of lawsuits that have been filed towards him and others over the deaths and accidents on the 2021 Astroworld pageant.

Scott was questioned in Houston throughout a deposition that lasted round eight hours, two folks with information concerning the litigation stated.

Lawyers and others linked to the civil lawsuits are underneath a gag order, stopping them from saying little past what occurs throughout courtroom hearings.googletag.cmd.push(perform() googletag.show(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); );

“Travis Scott’s deposition is typical legal procedure. What is not typical is how the media continues to focus on him despite being cleared of any wrongdoing by extensive government investigations, including by the Houston Police Department,” Ted Anastasiou, a spokesperson for Scott, said in a statement. “Travis is fully cooperating with the legal process while still remaining committed to his tour in support of his record-breaking album, ‘Utopia,’ and his charitable efforts to support at-risk communities.”

Following an investigation by Houston Police, no expenses have been filed towards Scott after a grand jury in June declined to indict him and 5 different folks on any legal counts associated to the lethal live performance. Police Chief Troy Finner declined to say what the general conclusion of his company’s investigation was.

In July, the police division made public its almost 1,300-page investigative report during which pageant employees highlighted issues and warned of potential lethal penalties.

According to a abstract within the investigative report of a police interview carried out two days after the live performance, Scott informed investigators that though he did see one particular person close to the stage getting medical consideration, total the gang appeared to be having fun with the present and he didn’t see any indicators of great issues.

This was the primary time Scott was questioned by attorneys for many who have filed lawsuits since a crowd surge at his Nov. 5, 2021, live performance in Houston killed 10 festivalgoers.

Those killed, who ranged in age from 9 to 27, died from compression asphyxia, which an skilled likened to being crushed by a automobile.

Similar crushes have occurred all around the world, from a soccer stadium in England to the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia to Halloween festivities within the South Korean capital. Most individuals who die in crowd surges suffocate.

Scott’s deposition comes as a decide earlier this yr scheduled the primary trial of the lawsuits for May 6, 2024. That first trial would happen almost 2.5 years after the lethal live performance.

Documents filed in courtroom in April listed greater than 1,500 energetic circumstances, lots of which have been filed towards Scott and Live Nation, the live performance promoter.

Of these, 992 have been circumstances with bodily accidents and 313 have been circumstances of “emotional distress, pain, suffering and mental anguish.” Orthopaedic surgical procedures have been accomplished in 17 of those circumstances, with different surgical procedures advisable in one other 21.

Some of the lawsuits have since been settled, together with these filed by the households of three of the folks killed in the course of the live performance.

Scott’s deposition on Monday befell on the identical day that hip-hop artist Drake, who carried out a number of songs with Scott in the course of the Astroworld live performance, was performing in Houston. Drake was additionally sued in reference to the lethal live performance.