U.S. rapper Travis Scott escapes criminal charges over 2021 concert stampede claiming 10 lives

HOUSTON, June 29 (Xinhua) -- A grand jury in the U.S. state of Texas on Thursday decided not to indict rapper Travis Scott and five others related to the stampede leaving 10 people dead and thousands of others injured during the 2021 Astroworld music festival, prosecutors said.

The Harris County grand jury weighed criminal charges against Scott and others related to the fatal crowd crash, said District Attorney Kim Ogg.

"Our investigators and prosecutors gave it everything they had to ensure that the grand jury could reach the truth," Ogg said.

In this instance, the grand jury found that no crime did occur, and that no single individual was criminally responsible, Ogg said.

Kent Schaffer, a lawyer for Scott, said the rapper stopped the concert three times and was unaware of the tragedy as it unfolded.

"Today's decision by the Harris County District Attorney confirms what we have known all along -- that Travis Scott is not responsible for the AstroWorld tragedy," Schaffer said in a statement.

"Now that this chapter is closed, we hope for the government efforts to focus on what is most important -- stopping future heartbreaking tragedies like Astroworld from ever occurring again," Schaffer added.

Five others, including Brent Silberstein, the festival manager of the concert's organizer Live Nation, were also cleared.

Ten people, aged from 9 to 27, died from compression asphyxia when an over-packed crowd of some 50,000 attendees began pushing toward the stage during the concert at Houston's NRG Park on Nov. 5, 2021.

According to the attorneys representing victims, at least 4,900 attendees were injured.

Hundreds of lawsuits have been filed against Scott and the concert's organizer, accusing them of negligence, according to local media reports.