On the night of November 5, Houston native and hip-hop artist Travis Scott held a musical festival bearing the same name as his third studio album, “Astroworld.”

Astroworld came under the media spotlight following the death of 14 people and injuries to 32 more during a stampede. Currently, it is under investigation as to whether this was an accident or if foul play was involved.

The last fatalities occurred near a newly-opened stall which is suspected to have been the cause of the stampede. Furthermore, the medical staff at the event were completely overwhelmed by the number of individuals requiring medical attention throughout the concert. Additionally, according to Marty Lacnton, the president of the Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association, firefighters outside the venue only had contact with emergency responders in the concert through phone numbers, not radio, which is unreliable when communicating during emergencies. Based on this information, there were likely major issues with under-staffing of medical responders and inefficient communication between security and medical personnel.

After considering the crowd-control measures that were put in place and the reports of the chain of events that occurred that night, these deaths could have- should have- been preventable.

Currently, the families of those who died are awaiting more information on what happened. Travis Scott has since released a statement that does not shed much light on the situation but instead apologizes for ‘the disturbance’ caused by his Astroworld concert recently.

Several theories are circulating, with some denying that this had anything to do with the rapper himself and others suggest he may have paid off security members to cause harm to fans to gain media attention.

The scale of the accident has cast doubt upon whether Astroworld will stage any more outdoor shows in the future. This is because the nature of these events, which are designed to be enjoyed by large crowds, may make them unfeasible if security is not up-to-scratch. A representative for Astroworld said they were “saddened” at what had happened and that their main priority was with those who had been seriously injured. Astroworld itself has now opened an internal investigation regarding security measures and all those involved are cooperating fully with police at this time.

The Houston Police Department released a statement saying that they would be treating the incident as criminal unless evidence suggested otherwise. Investigators are now trying to recreate exactly how this tragedy unfolded to establish whether it could have been prevented although venue authorities have come under fire for stopping the show 40 minutes after officials declared it to be a “mass casualty event.” Had they stopped the show at 9:30 p.m. when they began classifying the concert as a “mass casualty event,” though significantly fewer people would have sustained injuries, as Afnan Hasan, a concertgoer, recalls that countless individuals were trampling over each other by 10 p.m.

Most importantly, Scott’s actions may have contributed to the crisis when he encouraged his fans to “rage.” Such “raging” incites unsafe behavior like moshing, crowd-surfing, and stage-diving from his fans. Upon spotting an ambulance in the crowd, he momentarily paused the music before resuming and telling the crowd to make the “ground shake.” The sight of an ambulance should have been enough of a signal to indicate that there were severe injuries, at which point Scott should have stopped the concert or at the very least, urged the crowd to calm down before resuming. Unfortunately, Scott has had a history of two arrests as a result of encouraging his fans to rush the barricades and bypass security, which caused stampedes and injuries. Although he has pleaded guilty to both charges, he clearly still condones the dangerously rowdy behavior of his fans. If Scott, the person who exerts the most influence over his fans, actively eggs his fans to evade security, whose jobs are to ensure that the concert proceeds smoothly without disorder, it is no surprise that his concerts, including this year’s Astroworld, have resulted in chaos and injured attendees.

No one should have had their lives put at risk that night on November 5. This year’s Astroworld concert serves as a reminder that everyone, from the security guards to the concertgoers and Scott himself, has a responsibility to put public safety first.

All emergency services involved are also reviewing procedures to make sure this was an “isolated incident”.