Grand Jury Decides Not to Indict Travis Scott

Lawyer says rapper is 'ecstatic' after panel found no crime was committed
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 29, 2023 5:20 PM CDT
Travis Scott Won't Face Charges in Concert Deaths
Travis Scott performs at the Astroworld Music Festival at NRG Park in Houston on Nov. 5, 2021.   (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP, File)

A grand jury decided Thursday to not indict Travis Scott or anyone else in the deaths of 10 people at the 2021 Astroworld Festival in Houston. Thousands of people were injured, as well, in the crowd surge. The Harris County grand jury spent the day weighing criminal charges against the rapper-producer and other organizers of the concert, KTRK reports. A lawyer for Scott called the outcome a relief. "It's something we were hoping, something we expected based on lack of evidence," Kent Schaffer said. No one has been charged in the case so far.

Kim Ogg, the county's district attorney, said in a news conference Thursday the grand jury found that there was no crime committed and that "no single individual was criminally responsible." Scott was onstage when the surge began and did not respond to shouts from the crowd to stop the concert. He said later he didn't hear the screams, per People. The victims were found to have died of accidental compression asphyxia. Scott, other organizers, and Live Nation face several lawsuits over the deaths; they've denied allegations of negligence, per CNN. His lawyer said Scott, who is out of the country, is "ecstatic" about the grand jury's decision. "It's a huge weight that has been removed from his shoulders," Schaffer said. (More Travis Scott stories.)

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