By Juan Lozano
HOUSTON, Tex. (AP) --A 22-year-old college student who was critically injured in the crush of fans at the Astroworld festival in Houston has died, the family's lawyer said Thursday, bringing the death toll to nine.
Bharti Shahani, who was set to graduate from Texas A&M University in the spring, died Wednesday night, attorney James Lassiter said during a news conference. All of the concertgoers who died following the Friday night show were between the ages of 14 and 27, underscoring how the tragedy unfolded in a mostly younger crowd.
A 9-year-old boy who was also injured at the sold-out festival of 50,000 people remained in a medically induced coma, according to family.
"For the first time in her life she just wanted to have fun, and that was taken from her," said Namrata Shahani, her sister, who attended the concert with Bharti and their cousin.
Namrata Shahani said her sister's last words to her were, "Are you OK?"
Concertgoers have described the packed crowd growing dangerous even before headliner Travis Scott appeared on stage, and seeing people collapse while the rapper performed. Scott's attorneys have said he did not know about the deaths and injuries until after the show.
On Thursday, Scott's representatives said Scott is "distraught by the situation" and has been trying to connect with the affected families to share condolences and provide them aid.
Hundreds of people were injured in the intensifying surge. A criminal investigation into the deaths at Astroworld is underway.
Scott was only minutes into his set when at least one Houston officer radioed over a police channel that the main stage had been compromised by a massive crowd surge.
Recordings of police radio traffic, obtained by the Houston Chronicle, reveal how quickly law enforcement became aware of the rising danger in the throng of concertgoers shortly after the star rapper began performing at the sold-out music festival, which drew about 50,000 people.
Scott took the stage in his hometown of Houston shortly after 9 p.m.
"Looks like folks are coming out of the crowd complaining of difficulty breathing, crushing-type injuries," one official said over the police radio around 9:21 p.m., according to the audio obtained by the newspaper. "Seems like the crowd is compressing on itself."
Scott kept performing his set, which lasted about an hour. The newspaper reported that officers spotted people leaving the crowd but that their voices remained calm through the first half hour.
"I'm at the medical tent," one officer radioed in around 9:30 p.m. "There's a lot of people trampled and they're passed out at the front stage."
Later, another officer says: "We're getting multiple reports of people getting injured. We have another report of cardiac situation with CPR by the stage."
Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said during a news conference Wednesday that police told organizers to shut down the performance when fans in the crowd were administered CPR. Authorities gave word around 10:03 p.m. that the concert was in the process of shutting down, but witnesses say Scott and Drake, the superstar rapper who came on toward the end of Scott's set as a special guest, kept performing.
Finner repeatedly refused to provide timelines, saying the case was still under investigation. He said more than 500 officers were working the festival, more than double the number assigned in 2019 when the festival was last held.
But Finner said festival organizers had not provided clear records of how many private security guards were working the show, describing what they turned over as "just not good." It was up to Live Nation Entertainment, the show's promoter, to secure two mosh pits in front of the stage, Finner said.
Scott's attorneys on Wednesday pointed to an operational plan for the event that states only the festival director and executive producers have the authority to stop the show, "neither of which is part of Travis's crew."
"Investigations should start proceeding over finger-pointing so that together, we can identify exactly what transpired and how we can prevent anything like this from happening again," attorney Edwin F. McPherson said in a statement.
“Heretic” and “Maria” Set As Red Carpet Premieres At AFI Fest
The American Film Institute (AFI) has announced that Heretic, the psychological thriller starring Hugh Grant, and Maria, based on the life of opera singer Maria Callas starring Angelina Jolie, will round out the Red Carpet Premieres section at this year’s AFI Fest. The Heretic Gala Screening will take place on Thursday, October 24, and the Maria Gala Screening will be held on Saturday, October 26. The complete Red Carpet Premieres section includes the world premieres of Music By John Williams, Robert Zemeckis’ Here, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl and Clint Eastwood’s Juror #2. All Red Carpet Premieres will take place at the historic TCL Chinese Theatre. The full lineup for AFI Fest 2024 will be unveiled on October 1.
“At the heart of AFI Fest is an unwavering dedication to celebrating the best in global cinema--together,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI president and CEO. “We look forward to uniting artists and audiences once again to be inspired by the art form in a powerful sense of community.”
Heretic follows two young missionaries (Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East) who are forced to prove their faith when they knock on the wrong door and are greeted by a diabolical Mr. Reed (portrayed by Grant), becoming ensnared in his deadly game of cat-and-mouse. The film is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods and produced by Stacey Sher, Beck, Woods, Julia Glausi and Jeanette Volturno. The film will be released nationwide by A24 on November 8.
Directed by Pablo Larraín, Maria presents a tumultuous and beautiful depiction of one of the world’s most renowned artists and reimagines the legendary soprano in her final days in Paris, as Callas (Jolie)... Read More