Concerts. A social and prominent hub for people to come together to unite through music and artists. COVID-19 restrictions took away these musical gatherings leaving fans and artists alike disappointed after hundreds of shows and tours were canceled for over a year.

However, with the return of these joyous events, no one expected them to be deadly other than at the hands of the merciless coronavirus.

On Friday, a devastating chain of events occurred at the Travis Scott Astroworld Festival in Houston. According to Concert Archives, “That evening, at least 8 people died and at least 11 went into cardiac arrest… over 300 people being treated for injuries at the festival following panic during a human crush at around 9:15 p.m.”

The question of how such statistics came to be is still under investigation, but here is what we know so far.

50,000 extremely young concertgoers were jammed pack together in an anxious state of emotions, waiting for their favorite artist to emerge after over a year. Due to a mix of anticipation and speculated drug and alcohol use, the crowd was overbearing and so bunched up that many experienced compressive asphyxia: constricted airways caused by being pushed up against something extremely tightly. Compressive asphyxia led to certain deaths and serious injuries.

Officials are also concerned about how these issues were not prevented with precautionary measures. The event begged the question of whether there were too many attendees or if there was not enough security. However, a Houston fire chief, Samuel Peña, stated that “They could have had over 200,000 people in this venue; this venue was limited to 50,000.” In addition, security was significantly increased compared to concerts in 2019 held by Travis Scott.

Despite these facts, it does not undermine the fact that people were tremendously affected by this event. Horror and panic filled those who were at the front and were increasingly legitimately getting crushed to death and had no escape.  The shouts for help were drowned out by Travis Scott’s music and the roar of the crowd. CPR being administered to concertgoers passing out from the lack of air filled the concert scene. Injuries were inflicted as dozens were trampled, pushed, beaten, bruised, and stepped on.

Emily Muniga, an attendee shakingly described her experience: “The crowd was squishing me so much that I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I started screaming for help … I felt so scared, like I was going to die. The amount of people I saw get hurt, passed out, bleeding, crying is crazy.”

And most devastatingly, the young lives and the bright futures lost that day. These souls were 16-year-old Brianna Rodriguez, 23-year-old Madison Dubiski, 27-year-old Danish Baig, 21-year-old Franco Patino, soon-to-be 21-year-old Jacob “Jack” Jurinek , 23-year-old Rudy Pena, 21-year-old Axel Acosta, and 14-year-old John Hilgert. More about these lives can be read at the Houston Chronicle.

Travis Scott responded to the events that transpired with a hope for peace for the families that lost their loved ones and an apology for those who were hurt in an Instagram video. “I am honestly just devastated. I could never imagine anything like this happening, and I’m gonna do everything I can to keep you guys updated…Love you all.”

Beyza Beyazkan, a senior at Hills, expressed her sympathy to the families that were affected by the concert: “Concerts are places where you have fun and get to release stress. I personally was supposed to go to a concert when it got canceled. It’s great that they are opening again, but they should be conducted in a safe manner to ensure the fans can have the most enjoyable experience. My heart sincerely goes out to the families that have lost their loved ones. The news must’ve been shocking and I hope they can find peace and closure.”