Travis Scott to pay funeral costs for Astroworld victims

Travis Scott has pledged to cover the funeral costs for the eight fans who died while attending his Astroworld Festival in Houston on Friday night.

Eight people, ranging from 14 to 27 years old, died on Friday night during a crowd surge at Astroworld: Mirza Baig, Rodolfo Peña, Madison Dubiski, Franco Patino, Jacob Jurinke, John Hilgert, Axel Acosta Avila and Brianna Rodriguez. 300 people sustained injuries during the surge. Out of the 17 that were transported to local hospitals, 13 remain hospitalized and four have been discharged.

Houston Fire Chief Sam Peña said the crowd started to rush toward the stage around 9:15 p.m. “The crowd for whatever reason began to push and surge towards the front of the stage, which caused the people in the front to be compressed – they were unable to escape that situation,” Peña said during a news conference early Saturday morning.

In addition to covering the funeral costs, The 30-year-old rapper and his Cactus Jack Foundation will partner with BetterHelp, an online portal that provides mental health support, and offers free one-on-one virtual therapy sessions with a licensed therapist, to anyone affected in the wake of the tragedy.

“Travis remains in active conversations with the city of Houston, law enforcement and local first responders to respectfully and appropriately connect with the individuals and families of those involved,” a statement from Travis Scott’s team reads. “These are the first of many steps Travis plans on taking as a part of his personal vow to assist those affected throughout their grieving and recovery process.”

Travis Scott shared a series of videos to Instagram stories on Saturday night, acknowledging he was “devastated” by the events that unfurled at Astroworld.

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