Travis Scott will not be charged in connection with the November 2021 Astroworld incident that left 10 dead, including a 10-year-old boy, and thousands injured, as Reuters reports. A grand jury in Harris County, Texas declined to indict the rapper, bringing the 19-month investigation to a close.

Kent Schaffer, Scott’s attorney, shared the following statement with Pitchfork:

My client Travis Scott will not be charged with criminal charges or any wrongdoing for his involvement with AstroWorld festival.

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.  This is consistent with investigative reporting by numerous media outlets and federal and state government reports that have squarely placed the onus for event safety crises on organizers, operators and contractors – not performers. While waiting patiently for the District Attorney’s decision to not file charges, Travis Scott has been inaccurately and wrongly singled out, despite stopping the show three separate times and being unaware of the events as they were unfolding. 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.

Astroworld 2021 was originally scheduled to take place on November 5 and 6, however the second day was canceled after a mass casualty incident occurred at NRG Park in Houston. The incident involved a large of group of audience members compressing toward the front of the stage, causing panic and injuries. Officials transported 17 people to hospitals, including 11 people who were in cardiac arrest. A 10-year-old was reportedly among those injured, and the ages of the deceased are between 14 and 27, according to a report from The New York Times.

Scott released two statements shortly after the incident occurred. “I’m absolutely devastated by what took place last night,” Travis Scott said in his initial statement on November 6. “My prayers go out to the families and all those impacted by what happened at Astroworld Festival.” In a subsequent Instagram story video (viewed by Pitchfork) he said that he was “working right now to identify the families so we can help assist them through this tough time.” 

Though Scott will not face criminal charges, he and Live Nation are still facing several civil lawsuits over the event, including one from a woman suing him and Live Nation for the death of her unborn child. The House Oversight and Reform Committee launched an investigation into Live Nation over the incident. All ten deaths were eventually ruled accidents by the Harris County Medical Examiner’s Office. Scott established his own event safety initiative, called Project HEAL, in March 2022. He paused a show in Brooklyn later that summer, when fans were climbing part of a truss during his outdoor set at Coney Island.

Scott began easing into the public eye again with a performance at a private pre-Oscars house party in the spring of 2022, which he followed with a Coachella afterparty performance. He returned to TV at the Billboard Music Awards in May 2022, where he performed “Mafia” and a new song reportedly titled “Lost Forever.”

The rapper has also returned to making music over the last year and a half. He’s made guest appearances on a number of other artists’ tracks, including SZA, Pharrell Williams, Young Thug, and Southside. Scott reportedly has a new album titled Utopia due in the near future, which he’s hinted at with billboards and a briefcase he carries frequently.

Who Will Be Held Responsible for the Astroworld Disaster?