Investigations widen into deadly stampede at Houston rap concert

HOUSTON - At least two investigations, one of them criminal, were underway on Sunday into the deadly stampede during rap star Travis Scott's Astroworld music festival that killed at least eight people and injured dozens in Houston.

Officials in Houston said autopsies on Friday's victims were being performed as soon as possible so their bodies could be returned to family members, with the identities of some of the dead expected to be released on Sunday.

The dead were young, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner told reporters on Saturday: two were aged 14 and 16, two were 21, another two were 23, with a seventh aged 27.

An eighth victim has yet to be identified, he added.

Harris County Judge Lina Hildago called for an "objective, independent" investigation into the tragedy, as she spoke about the rap festival being attended by 50,000 fans when the stampede took place.

"Perhaps the plans were inadequate. Perhaps the plans were good but they weren't followed," Hildago said. "The families of those who died, everybody affected, deserves answers."

In a 90-second video released on Twitter on Saturday, Scott said that, while on stage, "I could just not imagine the severity of the situation." He described himself as "absolutely devastated" by the incident.

Houston city police chief Troy Finner said his department had opened a criminal investigation by homicide and narcotics detectives, following reports that somebody in the audience had been injecting people with drugs.

The city's fire chief, Samuel Pena, said several concert goers had to be revived with the anti-drug overdose medicine Narcan, including a security officer who appeared to have been injected in the neck with a substance by a concert goer.

The rest of the two-day festival has been cancelled after the disaster unfolded at NRG Park at about 9.30 p.m. during the headline performance by Scott, a Grammy nominated singer and producer, at the climax of the opening day.

The deaths happened near the stage when the crowd surged towards it, with some suffering cardiac arrests and other medical trauma, officials said.

-reuters

Celebrity Kylie Jenner announces birth of baby girl

U.S. reality TV star Kylie Jenner announced on Sunday the birth of her child with rapper Travis Scott, after months of rumors surrounding her pregnancy.

The 20-year-old Jenner said in a post on social media platform Instagram that her “beautiful, healthy baby girl” arrived on Feb. 1 and apologized to fans for keeping her pregnancy a secret.

“I‘m sorry for keeping you in the dark through all the assumptions,” Jenner wrote. “I understand you’re used to me bringing you along on all my journeys. My pregnancy was one I chose not to do in front of the world.”

Shortly after her Instagram announcement, she posted an 11-minute video on YouTube about the arrival of her daughter, which ends with a glimpse of the baby’s arm and leg after the delivery.

Jenner’s half-sister Kim Kardashian, 37, and her rapper husband Kanye West announced the birth of their third child on Jan. 16, a girl born to a surrogate. Jenner’s other half-sister Khloe Kardashian, 33, announced in December that she is six months pregnant with her basketball player boyfriend Tristan Thompson.


Jenner, who has parlayed her family’s reality TV show and a 101 million Instagram following into a lucrative cosmetics line, posted a teaser on Instagram to a YouTube video entitled “To Our Daughter,” that shows her in the delivery room just after giving birth, holding her newborn baby.

The arrival of Jenner’s child quickly became the top trending topic on Twitter in the United States, surpassing #SuperBowlSunday just hours before the start of the big game.

Soon after Jenner made the announcement, her mother Kris and sisters Kendall, Kim and Khloe all posted messages of love and support on social media.

Watch Jenner’s YouTube video entitled “To Our Daughter”:

source: interaksyon.com