Crowd surge wasn’t mentioned in Astroworld operational plan

By JUAN A. LOZANO and ROBERT BUMSTED
Associated Press

HOUSTON (AP) — A 56-page event operations plan for the Astroworld music festival includes protocols for dangerous scenarios including an active shooter, bomb or terrorist threats and severe weather, but it didn’t include information on what to do in the event of a crowd surge. But that’s what authorities believe happened Friday night when eight people died at the outdoor festival in Houston that was attended by some 50,000 people. The event is now the focus of a criminal investigation. Attendees described scenes of panic in the crowd as fans pressed forward when rapper Travis Scott took to the stage. Over 300 people were treated at a field hospital on site and at least 13 were hospitalized.