Nov. 10 (UPI) — Three people injured last week during a Houston music festival are still hospitalized in critical condition, Mayor Sylvester Turner said Wednesday.
The mayor gave the update on the victims during the Houston City Council’s weekly meeting.
“Our hearts are very, very heavy this morning,” Turner said during the meeting, calling for a moment of silence.
“Eight people lost their lives … eight young persons lost their lives. Three remain in hospitals and three are in critical condition, so we want to pray for those three and their families, because not one of us is in their shoes.”
He called for the public to be respectful of the privacy of the people affected by the tragedy.
Eight people died Friday during rapper Travis Scott’s set as part of the two-day Astroworld Festival. Panic during the concert caused chaos among the crowd, leading to crushing and trampling of the concertgoers.
The Houston Police Department has launched an investigation into what led to the incident.
“How did this happen?” Turner questioned Wednesday.
“That is the question that remains on all of our minds. How did this happen? Where were the missteps? Where were the failures? Where were the gaps? We owe it to the family members, all of those who attended and quite frankly the city as a whole, to the first responders, all of them. How did this happen?”
The office of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced Wednesday the establishment of the Texas Task Force on Concert Safety to review concert safety and determine ways to prevent tragedies like the one Friday. The task force will include officials and experts from law enforcement, firefighters, state agencies, music industry leaders and others.
“Live music is a source of joy, entertainment, and community for so many Texans — and the last thing concertgoers should have to worry about is their safety and security,” Abbott said.
“To ensure that the tragedy that occurred at the Astroworld Festival never happens again in the Lone Star State, I am forming the Texas Task Force on Concert Safety. From crowd control strategies to security measures to addressing controlled substances, this task force will develop meaningful solutions that will keep Texans safe while maximizing the joy of live music events. I thank the members of this task force for coming together to work on this important issue.”
Harris County identified those killed during the concert as Axel Acosta Avila, 21; Mirza Baig, 27; Madison Dubiski, 23; John Hilgert, 14; Jacob Jurinke, 20; Franco Patiño, 21; Rodolfo Peña, 23; and Brianna Rodriguez, 16.
