# Fatal crowd surge at Houston concert \[Incident From NOV2021\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 6, 2021, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fatal-crowd-surge-at-houston-concert-incident-from-nov2021/953887 "2021-11-06T12:51:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2021, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fatal-crowd-surge-at-houston-concert-incident-from-nov2021/953887/61 "2021-11-10T05:01:26Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > Personally, I don’t like any events where people are not seated in specific seats assigned via a ticketing system. It should be outlawed. I saw The Who at Toronto’s Exhibition Stadium in 1982. We had general admission tickets, and got there early, about three or four hours before the scheduled start, so we were near the front. There were no seats or chairs in general admission, so we sat on the field, or stood. As the scheduled start approached, the crowd surged, and my friends and I were caught in the tide. It was not fun. Eventually, somebody in authority had the idea to deploy fire hoses. Not directly on the crowd, but close enough that everybody moved back. Still, we all got wet. It was great to hear The Who (eventually), but not a fond memory. Let’s go forward to 1989, when The Who again played Toronto’s Exhibition Stadium, and I was there. This time, there was no general admission; the field was covered in chairs, and it was assigned seating. It was a much more enjoyable show than it had been in 1982–the chairs meant that the crowd was more orderly as the scheduled start approached, there was no general admission so no surging, and there were no fire hoses. I got to enjoy the show, instead of being worried about being carried off or trampled by the surging tide. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2021, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fatal-crowd-surge-at-houston-concert-incident-from-nov2021/953887/62 "2021-11-10T12:34:23Z")
> [@snfaulkner](#): > > You and I obviously don’t go to the same kind of shows. Agreed! LOL ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2021, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fatal-crowd-surge-at-houston-concert-incident-from-nov2021/953887/63 "2021-11-11T23:45:29Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > There’s going to be an addition to the death count: With no brain activity it’s a question of when they decide to pull the plug: Unfortunately, yes. Bharti Shahan passed away. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2021, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fatal-crowd-surge-at-houston-concert-incident-from-nov2021/953887/64 "2021-11-15T07:02:54Z")
And yet another one, a nine year old boy trampled: > **[9-Year-Old Dies From Astroworld Injuries After Week in Coma](https://www.thedailybeast.com/ezra-blount-9-year-old-astroworld-festival-victim-in-coma-dies-from-injuries-from-travis-scott-concert)** > > Ezra Blount’s death is now the tenth connected to the Nov. 5 Houston disaster. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2021, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fatal-crowd-surge-at-houston-concert-incident-from-nov2021/953887/65 "2021-11-15T12:38:20Z")
Crushed ≠ trampled. Nothing in that says he was trampled. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2021, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fatal-crowd-surge-at-houston-concert-incident-from-nov2021/953887/66 "2021-11-15T13:04:56Z")
While I suspect that the young man was simply crushed, it is possible to have both happen to you. Still a lot of sloppy reporting. Although some outlets have been decent about describing “a crowd crush” or “crowd surge” and talking about them in non-sensationalist, factual terms I still see too much talk of “stampedes” and “trampling to death”. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2021, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fatal-crowd-surge-at-houston-concert-incident-from-nov2021/953887/67 "2021-11-15T14:12:57Z")
> [@ASL\_v2.0](#): > > Crushed ≠ trampled. Nothing in that says he was trampled. The family suspects he was trampled: [https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/article/Nine-year-old-boy-in-coma-becomes-tenth-victim-of-16620787.php](https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/article/Nine-year-old-boy-in-coma-becomes-tenth-victim-of-16620787.php) ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2021, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fatal-crowd-surge-at-houston-concert-incident-from-nov2021/953887/68 "2021-12-17T01:10:01Z")
This was posted on the AP today: > **[Officials: Astroworld victims died from compression asphyxia](https://apnews.com/article/astroworld-festival-deaths-travis-scott-entertainment-science-houston-6ec1e022d472e448b5e8afc57f5bcf4a)** > > HOUSTON (AP) — The 10 people killed at the Astroworld music festival in Houston all died from compression asphyxia during a massive crowd surge in which attendees were packed so tightly that many could not breathe or move their arms, officials... ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2021, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fatal-crowd-surge-at-houston-concert-incident-from-nov2021/953887/69 "2021-12-17T01:27:46Z")
Travis did an interview recently: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/FS9SvGvbSgw/maxresdefault.jpg "A Conversation with Travis Scott and Charlamagne Tha God") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FS9SvGvbSgw) Summarizing: Not his fault. > **[Travis Scott says he won't rule out another Astroworld in 1st interview since...](https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Travis-Scott-Charlamagne-interview-Astroworld-16687715.php)** > > In a sit-down interview with The Breakfast Club's Charlamagne Tha God, Scott denied... And note " Scott and event organizers now face hundreds of lawsuits totaling more than $10 billion in damages alleging the named parties failed to provide adequate safety for fans. Here’s one: > **[Houston law firm files $10 billion Astroworld mega lawsuit](https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Travis-Scott-Astroworld-Houston-lawsuit-10-billion-16681620.php)** > > Brent Coon & Associates currently represents 1,547 concert-goers, more than any other... ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2025, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fatal-crowd-surge-at-houston-concert-incident-from-nov2021/953887/70 "2025-06-23T18:25:37Z")
Not sure if this is a legit reason to create a zombie (my first one!), but Netflix recently released a documentary about this as part of their “Trainwreck” series. I watched it over the weekend. > **[Trainwreck: The Astroworld Tragedy (2025) ⭐ 6.7 | Documentary](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt36856278/)** > > 1h 20m | TV-MA ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2025, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fatal-crowd-surge-at-houston-concert-incident-from-nov2021/953887/71 "2025-06-23T19:46:00Z")
i watched it as well. very interesting. very sad. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fatal-crowd-surge-at-houston-concert-incident-from-nov2021/953887.md?page=3)