An emergency plan put in place for Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival, which resulted in multiple injuries and left eight people dead, reportedly included protocols for an active shooter or severe weather, but not a crowd surge.
Organizers of the music festival put together a 56-page event operations plan that covered what to do in potentially dangerous situations including terrorist threats, an active shooter situation and severe weather, according to The Associated Press.
But it did not further detail instructions for what should happen if there was a crowd surge, the AP, which obtained a copy of the plan, noted.
“In any situation where large groups of people are gathering, there is the potential for a civil disturbance/riot that can present a grave risk to the safety and security of employees and guests,” the plan said, the news service reported. “The key in properly dealing with this type of scenario is proper management of the crowd from the minute the doors open. Crowd management techniques will be employed to identify potentially dangerous crowd behavior in its early stages in an effort to prevent a civil disturbance/riot.”
Over 20 lawsuits have been filed against Astroworld organizers alleging they inadequately prepared for crowd control.
The president of the Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association, Marty Lancton, said on Tuesday that firefighters requested a radio from festival organizers so that they could have direct contact, but were instead provided with a list of cellphone numbers for emergencies.
“We don’t use cell phones for emergencies. We use radios. We need direct contact because as situations unfold, seconds matter,” Lancton told AP.
Scott expressed that he was devastated by the tragedy this week and has pledged to cover the funeral costs of victims.
“Travis remains in active conversations with the city of Houston, law enforcement and local first responders to respectfully and appropriately connect with the individuals and families of those involved,” a representative said earlier this week.