Authorities continue to investigate the music festival, where eight people were killed in a crowd surge.
An Astroworld Festival security guard who was previously thought to have been pricked in the neck during the — leading authorities to look into a possible drug-spiking incident — was actually hit in the head, Houston police chief Troy Finner clarified Wednesday. In a news conference, Finner said medical personnel at the event told police the security guard had felt a prick in his neck before arriving in the medical tent. However, authorities have since spoken with the man who confirmed that he was hit in the head and woke up in the tent. No one injected him with drugs, Finner said. The police chief declined to establish a definitive timeline of how the deadly chaos unfolded, saying it was too early in the investigation to know for sure. However, he said police told personnel in charge of the event to end the show when at least one person was receiving CPR. The Houston Police Department and the FBI are investigating the incident, which Finner estimated could take weeks or months to complete. They are working to review video footage and interview victims as well as witnesses. Finner said Wednesday that he does not believe an independent investigation is necessary at this point. He also clarified that it was Harris County, not the city of Houston, that sanctioned the music festival. However, the police chief said his goal was not to blame anyone. “There’s nothing more important than the families,” Finner said. “I want us all — as a city, as a nation — to pray for these families.
