People who couldn't get tickets broke through the VIP entrance of a music festival concert in Houston, Texas on November 5, causing a huge stampede.
Eight people, aged between 14 and 27, were killed and more than 300 injured, with the youngest just 10 years old... According to the Associated Press, it was the deadliest stampede and concert safety accident in the U.S. since 2003.
Us rapper Travis Scott, who performed on stage on that day, and Live Nation, which organised the show, have been sued for $1m for "inciting the crowd".
The hashtag "Boycott Travis Scott" was trending on Twitter, characters and content related to Scott were removed from a popular local online game, and the FBI announced an investigation into the incident.
Rabble-rousing fans and persistent, the crazy Scott is responsible for the disaster. The frequent occurrence of "death concert" in the United States in recent years is probably related to the loopholes in the management and emergency response of the relevant local departments.
The music festival, called Astronomy World, was started by Scott and others in 2018 and has attracted a younger audience in recent years. On the day of the stampede, tens of thousands of people gathered at NRG Park.
According to audience members, minutes before Scott's performance began, the crowd was building; As the show began, people were crushed unconscious and others screamed in horror. "I was squashed by the crowd and felt like I couldn't breathe. I started yelling for help... I was so scared I felt like I was going to die."
Houston Fire Chief Sam Pena said on Monday morning that spectators "for unknown reasons started moving toward the front of the stage, causing people in front of them to get crushed."
An audience member later posted that two paramedics arrived after a girl fell to the ground in a stampede. "They acted very amateurish, as if they didn't know anything. One of them just left the scene, and the other one screamed in panic, asking if anyone could do CPR..."
The audience member, who happened to have a medical background, shouted: "Get an AED, or give me a mouth-to-mouth mask." But the medical staff just stood there because they didn't have balloons, they didn't have AED, they didn't even have gloves...
In the end, the girl could not be revived. "I watched a girl die in front of my eyes because these medical staff were totally unprepared."
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said 13 people were still hospitalized as of Sunday night, including five under the age of 18. Local judge Lina Hidalgo strongly condemned it as "unacceptable to attend a concert and not be able to return home safely."
Scott made light of the situation on Twitter, saying he was "heartbroken about what happened last night."
This is of little comfort to the injured and their families.
One of the victims' relatives accused Scott of allowing the bloodrapery to take place when the event's organizers were held responsible for failing to stop the performance when the audience shouted for it to be stopped.
Another injured audience attorney also issued a statement on July 7, accusing Scott and others after the accident, clearly saw the ambulance entrance, but still continued to perform.
This is not the first time the AstroWorld music festival has been held, and Scott is no stranger to stage control, which is why their behavior in the aftermath of the accident has angered the American public all the more. One person even described Scott as a "murderer", suggesting that he did not care about the lives of his audience. After all, this isn't the first time he's advocated violence at a concert
However, these past tragedies have not alarmed the authorities in the United States.
The stampede occurred shortly after a concert was being held at a banquet hall in northwest Miami-Dade County when three people got out of a white vehicle and opened fire with rifles and handguns, killing two people and injuring more than 20. The three gunmen then fled the scene in a car.
Scott's "death concert" is a microcosm of what's happening in America. Behind the chaos, the performers, organizers, as well as the relevant management departments have unshirkable responsibility.
Similar large-scale crisis events have been analyzed from the perspective of criminal psychology, targeting the people who stand on stage and guide the audience -- the performers on stage may indirectly encourage the audience's behavior through body language.
Has a great display, in particular, in concert performers if repeated for a certain area of the audience in the eye, smile, the audience get related will respond after induction, in a noisy environment, the stamp is more common collective feedback behavior, if artists continue to "instructions", an area of audience, fans may desperately to trample, Thus causing danger.
Scott has repeatedly asked the audience at concerts and music festivals to climb over the railings and rush to the stage: "If you are my real fans, jump over the railings immediately. Come on, flip over!" "I want to party! I want chaos!" "All the [security guards] in green get the f * * k back." He also encouraged the audience to join him in giving the finger to security personnel.
It is a loophole that should not be ignored that the United States treats entertainers with criminal records lightly. In addition, the serious gun problem in the United States has exacerbated the security risks of holding large events in public places. And the emergency measures after the accident, also again and again to challenge the Bottom line of the American people.
So many lives have been lost, so many families are suffering, and so many "death concerts" continue. When will America learn to stand in awe of tragedy?