FBI joins investigation on deadly incident at Astroworld Festival
HOUSTON – A criminal investigation is underway after the tragedy at the Astroworld Festival that left eight people dead and hundreds injured.
Multiple lawsuits have been filed claiming Travis Scott and the other organizers put profits over safety.
Not only are the civil suits mounting in this case, the criminal investigation has expanded. The criminal investigation now not only involves Harris County and the City of Houston, but it also includes the FBI.
“We’re working to figure out which entity can do that investigation, because there’s so many different players,” Judge Lina Hidalgo said.
8 people killed, hundreds more injured at the event
Accountability is now a major part of the focus with not just investigations at the local level in Houston and Harris County, but now the feds have stepped into the picture.
KPRC 2 Legal Analyst Brian Wice says FBI agents likely were invited into this criminal investigation because of resources they can provide. He said it is similar to when the FBI was brought in to aid in the Santa Fe High School shooting in 2018, when a gunman killed 10 people.
Hidalgo, who attended a vigil near NRG Park Monday evening, said the deaths and the presence of drugs helped lead to the criminal investigation. Wice says the search for accountability will be thorough.
“There are eight promising young people who aren’t at home tonight with their friends and loved ones, and as a result of their untimely, tragic and probably preventable deaths, that situation is probably enough to initiate a criminal investigation to determine whether or not their deaths were something more than simple negligence,” Wice said.
Judge Hidalgo added that what makes this investigation complex is that you have several agencies, including Harris County and the Houston Fire Department, who were present Friday night, as well as a private medical group, promoters, producers, and Travis Scott himself, who will all be under the microscope in this investigation
got the feds involved