DEER PARK, Texas (Video above: KTRK via Associated Press) —

Fire erupted at a petrochemical plant in the Houston area Friday, sending nine workers to a hospital and causing a huge plume of smoke visible for miles.

Emergency responders were called to help around 3 p.m. at the Shell facility in Deer Park, a suburb east of Houston. The city of Deer Park said in an advisory that there was no shelter-in-place order for residents.

Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said earlier in the day that five contracted employees were hospitalized for precautionary reasons, adding that they were not burned. He said they were taken to a hospital due to heat exhaustion and proximity to the fire.

Shell Deer Park officials said on Twitter Friday night that they were continuing to respond to the fire, all workers were accounted for and nine workers had been released after undergoing precautionary medical evaluations.

Nothing exploded, Gonzalez said, although the sheriff's office initially responded to emergency calls saying there was an explosion.

As of Friday evening, the fire was still burning but had died down and was contained, Gonzalez said.

The cause of the blaze was still being investigated. The fire started while the olefins unit was undergoing routine maintenance. Air monitoring for any impact from the fire was ongoing, and had not detected any harmful levels of chemicals, Shell Deer Park said.

"There is no danger to the nearby community," the post said.

The fire started at about 2:56 p.m. in the facility's olefins unit. The product that ignited includes cracked heavy gas oil, cracked light gas oil and gasoline, Shell Deer Park said.

“The cause of the fire will be the subject of a future investigation, and our immediate priorities remain the safety of people and the environment,” facility officials said.

Shell was conducting its own air quality monitoring, but the city has yet to receive an update, said Kaitlyn Bluejacket, a spokesperson for Deer Park.

The city was advised by Shell that there was no need at the time to shelter in place, but that the city would update residents if that changed, Bluejacket said.

Fire crews from the Deer Park facility and nearby plants responded.

Wind conditions were favorable for fighting the blaze, although temperatures soared to near 90 degrees Fahrenheit in the Houston area, but high humidity made it feeler hotter than 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

Harris County Fire Marshal Captain James Singleton said his office would be in Deer Park through the weekend investigating.

“You’re looking at a large number of people that need to be interviewed,” Singleton said. “Everyone who was at the unit at the time of the fire, the controllers, management, anybody that called 911."

Houston meteorologists said the smoke plumes were visible from space via satellite.

Facility fires are not uncommon in the area, with the strong presence of the petrochemical industry. In March, an explosion and a fire erupted at a facility owned by INEOS Phenol in nearby Pasadena, Texas, leaving one injured.

A fire in 2019 at a facility owned by Intercontinental Terminals Company burned for days and though it caused no injuries, it triggered air quality warnings.

___

AP writer Lisa Baumann reported from Bellingham, Washington.

Part-time employees who worked at Travis Scott's deadly Astroworld Festival may not get paid unless they relinquish the right to sue promoters Live Nation and Scoremore.In an email obtained by Rolling Stone, a manager representing the promoters suggested to a group of workers that they would not receive their paychecks unless they signed an amended employment contract that released Live Nation and Scoremore from any liability.More from VarietyAll 10 Astroworld Victims Died of 'Compression Asphyxia,' According to Medical ExaminerCoachella Promoter Goldenvoice Sues Live Nation for Trademark Infringement Over Competing 'Coachella Day One 22' FestivalTravis Scott Out of Coachella 2022 Lineup Following Astroworld TragedyThe part-time employees, who were paid $7.50 per hour to perform tasks like screening wristbands, signed an original contract before Astroworld started. But in the email, sent Nov. 15, the manager wrote, "Hoping to wrap up payroll and get everyone paid ASAP but I still need a few things from some of you! The first agreement included details from 2018. It has been updated so if you can resign and send back."According to Rolling Stone, the revised contract states, "(Employee) assumes full responsibility for any injuries or damages that may occur to the (employee) in, on or about the festival and its premises and fully and forever releases and discharges the released parties from any and all claims, demands, damages, rights of action or causes of action resulting from or arising out of the (employee's) attending and or providing services at the festival."The contract also clarifies that employees who sign it acknowledge that they are "not covered nor eligible for any employee benefits or insurance coverage provided by the released parties including but not limited to medical, property and liability insurance and workers compensation benefits."An anonymous staffer who received the email, but refused to sign the new contract, told Rolling Stone, "They essentially said, 'You need to sign this new form in order to get paid.' It was clear they wanted legal coverage."He continued, "I definitely thought they were thinking of business first. 'How can we cover ourselves?' I know they weren't thinking about us and how we were feeling, in my opinion. Nobody reached out to me individually to inquire how I was. It was just the paperwork."Reps for Scoremore and Live Nation did not immediately respond to Rolling Stone or Variety's requests for comment.Sign up for Variety's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

HOUSTON —

A 9-year-old Dallas boy has become the youngest person to die from injuries sustained during a crowd surge at the Astroworld music festival in Houston.

Ezra Blount of Dallas died Sunday at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston, family attorney Ben Crump said.

Ezra was placed in a medically induced coma after suffering serious injuries in the Nov. 5 crush of fans during a performance by the festival's headliner, rapper Travis Scott.

He is the 10th person who attended the festival to die.

"The Blount family tonight is grieving the incomprehensible loss of their precious young son," Crump said in a news release Sunday night. "This should not have been the outcome of taking their son to a concert, what should have been a joyful celebration."

Treston Blount, Ezra's father, described what happened Nov. 5 in a post on a GoFundMe page that he set up to help defray Ezra's medical expenses. He said Ezra was sitting on his shoulders when a crowd surge crushed them. The father lost consciousness and when he came to, Ezra was missing, Blount said. A frantic search ensued until Ezra was eventually found at the hospital, severely injured.

The child incurred severe damage to his brain, kidney, and liver after being "kicked, stepped on, and trampled, and nearly crushed to death," according to a lawsuit his family has filed against Scott and the event's organizer, Live Nation. The Blount family is seeking at least $1 million in damages.

The others who died ranged in age from 14 to 27. Some 300 people were treated at the festival site and 13 were hospitalized.

Houston police and fire department investigators have said they are reviewing surveillance video provided by concert promoter Live Nation, as well as dozens of clips people at the show widely shared on social media. Investigators also planned to speak with Live Nation representatives, Scott and concertgoers. Scott and the event organizers are now the focus of a criminal investigation.

Anticipation had been building for hours, but never more than now, as the red numerals on the countdown clock disappeared and the first synthesized notes vibrated. An image of an eagle in a fireball hovered above the stage, a neon red tunnel appeared and eight towers of flames rose to the sky. Leaping from darkness into the glow, rapper Travis Scott emerged, the instant for which tens of thousands gathered before him had waited.

In the thrill of the moment, clamoring for an idol, many pushed forward, thrusting revelers into revelers, closer and closer and closer, until it seemed every inch was swallowed. Then, fighting the compression or seeking escape, people pushed from the front to the back, and new ripples came with it.

What followed last Friday in Houston is clouded by unanswered questions and strikingly different experiences based on where someone stood, which swells of movement reached them, and how they handled the crush. But in the 70 minutes the headliner was on stage in a show that left nine dead, one thing was certain: Nearly everyone felt the waves of humanity, borne of excitement but soaked with risk, as they spread.

"You became an organism," said 26-year-old Steven Gutierrez of Ellenville, New York, who is 6-foot-2 and 391 pounds but nonetheless found himself struck by the power of the pushes that sent him drifting from his spot. "We're all one. You're moving with the crowd. The crowd's like water. It's like an ocean."

The enthusiasm of some 50,000 spectators at the sold-out Astroworld festival was evident from the time gates opened hours earlier, when some of the earliest arrivals rushed through entrances with such force that metal detectors were toppled as security guards and police on horseback struggled to keep up. Though the concert grounds hosted numerous acts, Scott, a Houston-born musician who founded the festival in 2018 on the heels of his chart-topping album "Astroworld," was undoubtedly the top draw. Some fans made a beeline for the stage built solely for the headliner, staking out positions they would hold for hours under the manufactured peaks of "Utopia Mountain."

By noon, a merchandise area was shut down because the crowd was out of control, according to Houston Fire Department logs, and by 5 p.m., as many as 5,000 people without festival wristbands were believed to have breached barricades, jumped fences and even used bolt cutters to make their way into the concert grounds.

As afternoon turned to evening and the countdown clock appeared around 8:30 p.m., the crowd grew denser and denser, attendees said, and the first waves of motion began to ripple.

With five minutes left and latecomers pushing in, it tightened more.

In the final 30 seconds on the clock, the craggy peaks of the stage's mountain turned to a volcano, and when the moment came, the crowd chanted: "Ten, nine, eight, seven, six ..."

Scott appeared. The pushes grew stronger. The first shockwaves of fear emerged.

Eligio Garcia, 18, of Corpus Christi, Texas, figures it was just 40 seconds into Scott's set that he looked at his girlfriend with concern. They felt heat swaddle their bodies. It became hard to breathe.

Screams echoed, begging: "Please, help me!" Behind him, people were falling. It looked to him like a human whirlpool. They felt the push and his left arm slipped away from her.

In an instant, both found themselves tangled on the ground in a pile of bodies.

They managed to get up, and Garcia said they screamed to nearby production staff for help but got no response. Every way out seemed impossible, but they eventually made their way to safety.

"We gotta get out of here," he told his girlfriend. "We can't fall back into this pit."

Travis Scott's fans are dubbed "ragers" and are expected to be in constant motion at a show. The rapper, who dreamed of being a wrestler as a child and has said he wants his shows to resemble WWF matches, cheers chaos from the stage and stirs up frantic energy. He even has a gold necklace mimicking a street sign: A jewel-encrusted red circle with a person standing still, a diagonal red slash through the body.

The message is clear: No bystanders at concerts. Ragers only.

And so the show continued, Scott headbanging and shrieking, running through a quick succession of hits.

Some experienced concertgoers in the crowd grabbed whistles around their necks or shouted "Open it up!" to trigger those around them to form mosh pits, circles that were the only voids in the jam-packed horde. Moshers shoved and heaved their bodies against one another in an aggressive ritual toeing the line between dance and violence. Around mosh pits' perimeter, circles of participants rotated and crowdsurfers took flight.

Moshers want their pits to grow as big as possible. Their outward push, combined with the rotations of participants, can create a swirl of motion that moves through the crowd. It was nothing new to many at the show. But, combined with the push toward the stage, others felt the crowd compress in ways they hadn't before.

Billy Nasser, 24, of Indianapolis, noticed it a few songs in. His raised arms no longer had room to come down. People were falling. Some stepped on the lifeless body of a passed-out man with his eyes rolled back in his head.

"I had to let him go .. It was every man for himself," Nasser said. "And that was when I realized how bad it was because I literally had to drop him and no one else would help me."

As flashpoints emerged in some places, the show went on. Lasers springing from the stage's tunnel made it look at times like a prism capturing a blaring sun.

Some 530 Houston Police officers were on the scene and their walkie-talkies crackled with a warning: Don't leave your group. No fewer than 10 officers together. Danger looms.

"We're having some structural issues that could be catastrophic," a voice cautioned.

About 22 minutes into his set, Scott seemed to see something in the crowd.

"Make sure he good," he said. "Walk with him. Take him."

Around the same time, over police radio, a voice advised: "Folks are coming out of the crowd complaining of difficulty breathing, crushing type injuries. It seems like the crowd is compressing."

The mass of people continued to tighten in spots, but escape paths remained.

Kevin Perez, a 19-year-old from Davenport, Florida, saw a mosh pit collapse behind him and realized he no longer was controlling his own movement. His forearms felt bound to his chest, his hands clenched in fists near his neck. He tipped his chin toward the sky for shallow breaths.

"It went from like excited to scared," he said. "People were trying to get out."

Perez followed a snake of people cutting through the crowd. Others climbed barricades.

In the hindsight of their escapes, the moments of this night would take new meaning.

An opening song entitled "Escape Plan." T-shirts brandished with "See you on the other side." A man in the crowd holding a white sign that asked "Will we survive."

The situation appeared to be worsening, the waves growing stronger, the opportunities to break free fewer.

"It got to the point," said 21-year-old Jason Rodriguez of Texas City, Texas, "where nobody could move."

About 28 minutes into Scott's set, a golf cart with flashing blue and red lights barely inched through the sea.

"There's an ambulance in the crowd," the rapper said. "Whoa, whoa, whoa."

He paused for about a minute. Scott told the audience to raise their hands to the sky. "You all know what you came here to do," he said, a cue for two men who were picked from the crowd to launch into stagedives.

Scott finished "Upper Echelon" as he hit the 30-minute mark onstage. Houston Police Chief Troy Finner later said this was the point his department noticed attendees "going down."

At the medical tent, where the capacity was just 10 people, according to permit filings, concern grew. On police radio, word was broadcast: "There's a lot of people trampled and they're passed out."

On the perimeter of the concert area, people were being thrust against metal barricades. Some began to bend.

During the next song, a young woman was captured on video climbing a platform with a cameraman.

"There is someone dying!" she cried. "There is someone dead!"

A young man joined her on the camera platform, screaming: "Stop the show! Stop the show!"

The show went on.

What the rapper could see remains unknown. He soon had a new vantage atop an elevated platform at center stage and said at one point he could see "all the way in the back." But in videos looking out at the spectators, thousands of glowing phones look like a sky of glittering stars. His attorneys said later he didn't know about the deaths or injuries until after the show.

As Scott sang from the platform, security guards were seen responding in the crowd, saying "He's not having a pulse" and "There's like four people out here without a pulse." Police say the festival's promoter, Live Nation, agreed to cut the show short around this time. Inexplicably, though, the concert continued.

Forty minutes had passed since Scott took the stage, and again he briefly stopped.

"We need somebody help. Somebody passed out right here," he said.

He returned to work shortly, singing lyrics that speak of "standing in the ocean." Before him, the real-life sea of humanity bubbled with problems. Panic spread.

"I gotta get out! I gotta get out!" Ariel Little cried, her chest throbbing under the crowd's crush.

"You're going to get trampled!" Michael Suarez told himself, struggling not to fall.

"I'm going to die in here!" Stacey Sarmiento thought as she tried to escape.

One woman bit a man to make her way through. A man said humans turned to animals as the situation spiraled.

It felt to some as if it couldn't get worse, but another rush was coming. Fifty-two minutes into Scott's set, superstar rapper Drake appeared on stage, a surprise that sent the crowd again pushing.

Gutierrez, a hulking former lifeguard, had returned to the crowd after a brief retreat after guiding two people to safety. Now, he was back among them, overwhelmed by the joy of seeing Drake before him.

"You felt the rush to the stage and there was a big push," he said. "The Drake effect."

Scott and Drake shared the stage for 14 minutes until, alone again, Scott delivered a final song as the mountain behind him burst with color and fireworks rocketed overhead.

"Make it home safe!" he yelled before jogging offstage.

The ocean receded, baring ground littered with shoes and clothes and trash. A field hospital bloated with the injured. And, from the lips of concertgoers, word of tragedy spread.

___

Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Juan Lozano, Jamie Stengle and Robert Bumsted in Houston; Ryan Pearson in Los Angeles; and David Sharp in Portland, Maine.

As more details emerge about the struggles to communicate for attendees and employees at the Astroworld Festival in Houston, survivors of Friday night's crowd crush describe the horror of a "whirlpool" of people moving toward the stage during musician Travis Scott's performance.

Bryan Espinoza, 16, spoke at a press conference Tuesday with others caught in the crowd crush, saying "everyone's life was on the line" as the pressure built up during the show. Espinoza said he was pinned against a metal barrier.

"At one point my ribs were getting into the railing, basically impaled, and I was fearing for my life that I wasn't gonna make it," Espinoza said. A security guard helped him jump the gate, and he said there were "hundreds of bodies on the floor already from people passing out, falling over the railing."

Eligio Garcia, 18, described how he and his girlfriend were caught up in a "whirlpool" of people at the start of Scott's set.

"Just kids and people falling and people trying to reach up, like they're reaching up for you," he said. "I really heard people screaming like, 'Help, please help me.'"

Garcia said he and his girlfriend were knocked over and others fell on top of them. Eventually they were able to get upright in the scrum, and he said cries for help throughout the crowd to staff or show officials at the end of each song went unanswered before another began.

"It's a whole nightmare that just continues to play every night in my head," he said.

At least 18 lawsuits had been filed in Harris County District Court in Texas related to the Astroworld tragedy that unfolded among a crowd of 50,000. Eight concertgoers were killed in the crush, and three people who were injured are still in the hospital, Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peña told CNN.

Ayden Cruz, who was alongside his friend Brianna Rodriguez — one of the eight people who died — told CNN's Anderson Cooper the two were around a "circle of people who had fallen behind us" and were the next to stumble.

"The ripple effects of the crowds going forward and backward, we were pushed onto our backs, and as that happened, people began to fall on top of us and cause it to be harder to get air and just so much weight on both of us," Cruz said, adding another friend of theirs "fell as well on his back and people on top of us. It was really scary."

Communication issues at concert

As officials work to gain a full understanding of what happened in the crowd during Scott's set, they are "looking at everything from the very beginning," Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner told CNN's Don Lemon on Tuesday.

"We're looking at the roles that everyone played, what missteps, failures, gaps that may have existed," Turner said, adding they aren't ruling anything out.

The mayor said they are also looking into complaints by fire officials there were failures in communication as the deadly crowd swell unfolded.

Peña told CNN Tuesday firefighters stationed outside the Astroworld venue were not in radio communication with the emergency medical providers hired by the concert organizers.

According to the president of the city's firefighter union, Houston Fire officials on standby near the venue had asked concert organizers for a radio to communicate with the emergency medical provider company but were only provided with cellphone numbers.

Attendees after the concert have since stated they were unable to text or call due to poor cell service.

After learning of the crush, the fire department sent its resources into the crowd, saying eventually 12 "very critical" victims were transported, in many cases with CPR in progress.

Turner said Live Nation has turned over some video footage from the event to Houston police and they are hoping to get more as the criminal investigation moves forward.

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo is considering an outside law firm or other third party for the independent investigation into the tragedy, according to her spokesperson.

Paying tribute to those lost

Mourners of the eight concertgoers killed are paying tribute at a vigil at NRG Park, the location of the festival.

Caitlin Barrera told CNN Tuesday she was a neighbor and former classmate of Madison Dubiski, a 23-year-old attendee who died.

"She was a really sweet girl and it's just really sad what happened to her," Barrera said. "This is the last thing that you would think would happen."

Rusty Barber, who did not know the victims, yet wanted to pay his respects, shared with CNN his frustration with how Friday's concert turned to tragedy and Scott's set continued during the surge.

"It could have been stopped. They could have taken a 10-minute pause, 15-minute pause, and then they could have got it situated. And then the show could have went on and all these people wouldn't have lost their lives," Barber said.

Scott maintains he had no idea the extent of what was happening in the crowd during Friday's show. Footage from the concert's live stream also showed Scott pausing his performance and looking on in apparent confusion as an ambulance pulled into the crowd before finishing the concert.

The investigation into the weekend's deadly crowd crush at the Astroworld Festival in Houston will "take weeks, possibly months," police Chief Troy Finner told reporters Wednesday.

Nearly a week after the tragedy, many questions remain unanswered, including whether event organizers, the performer or local authorities should have stopped the show earlier.

Finner noted that the "ultimate authority to end a show (was) with production and the entertainer, and that should be through communication with public safety officials."

"We don't hold the plug," he said.

Eight concertgoers were killed in the crush, and two people who were injured remain hospitalized in critical condition, Fire Chief Samuel Peña told CNN.

Finner downplayed his relationship with headliner and festival organizer Travis Scott, saying the two have only met twice, including once before the concert.

"Let me clarify something," Finner said. "I meet a lot of people. I was born and raised in here in Houston so if somebody's referring to a special relationship... if you call meeting him twice a special relationship... that's not a close relationship to me."

Finner was asked about meeting with Scott prior to the Astroworld Festival and said he "had no reason to believe that it wasn't going to be safe."

The chief said there were many unanswered questions and he declined to go into detail on the investigation. "Timelines are a major focus of the investigation right now."

Survivors have described the horror of a "whirlpool" of people moving toward the stage during Scott's performance Friday night.

"Everyone's life was on the line" as the pressure built up during the show, Bryan Espinoza, 16, said at a news conference Tuesday with others who'd been in the crowd of 50,000 and got caught in the surge. Espinoza ended up pinned against a metal barrier, he said

"At one point, my ribs were getting into the railing, basically impaled, and I was fearing for my life that I wasn't gonna make it," Espinoza said. A security guard helped him jump the gate, and there were "hundreds of bodies on the floor already from people passing out, falling over the railing," he said.

Eligio Garcia, 18, and his girlfriend were caught up in a "whirlpool" of people at the start of Scott's set, he recalled.

"Just kids and people falling and people trying to reach up, like they're reaching up for you," he said. "I really heard people screaming like, 'Help, please help me.'"

Garcia and his girlfriend were knocked over, and others fell on top of them, he said. Eventually, they managed to get upright in the scrum, he said, and cries for help throughout the crowd to staff or show officials at the end of each song went unanswered before another began.

"It's a whole nightmare that just continues to play every night in my head," he said.

Also in the scrum were Ayden Cruz and his friend Brianna Rodriguez, who died. They were around a "circle of people who had fallen behind us" and were next to stumble, Cruz told CNN.

"The ripple effects of the crowds going forward and backward, we were pushed onto our backs, and as that happened, people began to fall on top of us and cause it to be harder to get air and just so much weight on both of us," he said, adding another friend "fell as well on his back and people on top of us. It was really scary."

At least 18 lawsuits had been filed in Harris County District Court in Texas related to the Astroworld tragedy. A Houston attorney has "filed 68 lawsuits for injured victims, and we intend to file probably up to 100 if not more by the end of the day or the following day," he told CNN on Wednesday.

The list of defendants — including Live Nation, the show's promoter and organizer; Travis Scott; musician Drake; and NRG Park, where the festival took place — is growing to include a security company and potentially others, lawyer Thomas Henry said.

Communication gaps impacted immediate response

As officials work to gain a full understanding of what happened in the crowd during Scott's set, they are "looking at everything from the very beginning," Mayor Sylvester Turner told CNN on Tuesday.

"We're looking at the roles that everyone played, what missteps, failures, gaps that may have existed," Turner said, adding they aren't ruling anything out.

Officials are looking into complaints by fire officials there were failures in communication as the deadly crowd swell unfolded, the mayor said.

Firefighters stationed outside the Astroworld venue were not in radio communication with the emergency medical providers hired by the concert organizers, Peña told CNN on Tuesday.

Houston fire officials on standby near the venue had asked concert organizers for a radio to communicate with the emergency medical provider company but were only provided with cell phone numbers, according to the president of the city's firefighter union.

Concert attendees couldn't text or call due to poor cell service, some have said.

After learning of the crush, the fire department sent its resources into the crowd, saying eventually 12 "very critical" victims were transported, in many cases with CPR in progress.

At 10:15 p.m., the fire department upgraded its response to a mass casualty level two — meaning that between 20 and 50 people could be in need of transportation to hospitals, according to documents obtained by CNN and Peña.

Live Nation, the show's promoter and organizer, has turned over some video footage from the event to Houston police, who are hoping to get more as the criminal investigation moves forward, Turner said.

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo is considering an outside law firm or other third party for the independent investigation into the tragedy, according to her spokesperson.

Mourning those killed and recalling the horror

Mourners have paid tribute at a vigil at NRG Park to the concertgoers killed. Among them were a neighbor and former classmate of Madison Dubiski, 23.

"She was a really sweet girl, and it's just really sad what happened to her," Caitlin Barrera told CNN. "This is the last thing that you would think would happen."

Rusty Barber, who did not know the victims yet wanted to pay his respects, shared his frustration with how Friday's concert turned to tragedy and Scott's set continued during the surge.

"It could have been stopped. They could have taken a 10-minute pause, 15-minute pause, and then they could have got it situated. And then the show could have went on and all these people wouldn't have lost their lives," Barber told CNN.

Scott maintains he had no idea the extent of what was happening in the crowd during Friday's show. Footage from the concert's live stream showed Scott pausing his performance and looking on in apparent confusion as an ambulance pulled into the crowd before finishing the concert.

The performers should have stopped the show that night, said Henry, the lawyer who said he's lodged dozens of suits.

"At 9:38 there was a mass casualty incident report to all the producers at the show," he told CNN. "By 10:15, the show had ended. But in that period of time, Drake came on stage while people were being injured and killed. Those performers — Drake and Travis Scott, along with all of the event organizers -- knew the dangers associated with the crowd, what was going on with the crowd, and yet they continued to perform.

"And from the stage, you could see absolutely Travis Scott noticing people being injured, noticing people being carried off unconscious," Henry said. "And so those performers, instead of stopping the show and keeping those people safe in the crowd and taking those steps necessary to stop the event — help stop this crowd issue — they continued and the crowd was excited, the crowd got worse and more people got injured because they continued to perform."

HOUSTON, Texas — Emergency plans for the Astroworld music festival in Houston did not include protocols for dangerous crowd surges, even though that's what authorities believe happened Friday night when eight people died as rapper Travis Scott performed.

Hundreds of others were injured, including a 9-year-old boy whose family said was still in a coma on Tuesday. Attendees described scenes of panic in the crowd as fans pressed forward when Scott took to the stage.

The concert area remains largely in place as authorities continue a criminal investigation.

The Associated Press reports that a 56-page safety plan for the festival included protocols for active shooters, bomb threats and severe weather. However, the plan did not include protocols for a potential crowd surge.

Houston's police and fire departments played a key role in keeping the 50,000 attendees safe at the concert. However, the union head of the Houston Fire Department pushed back Tuesday, saying firefighters did not have a presence inside the festival and were not given radios to communicate directly with organizers, even though they had asked for them.

"We don't use cellphones for emergencies. We use radios. We need direct contact because as situations unfold, seconds matter," Marty Lancton said.

More than 20 lawsuits have already been filed, accusing organizers of failing to take simple crowd-control steps or staff properly.

Houston's police and fire departments have already vowed to conduct their own investigation into the tragedy. However, the top elected official in Harris County has called for an independent review of the tragedy in the hopes of removing any potential conflicts of interest.

During a press conference Wednesday, Houston Police Chief Troy Finner pushed back on the need for an independent investigation.

“Because I’m really confident on who we are here at HPD and I think we can do our own investigation," said Finner. "And let’s not jump ahead of things. We’re only a few days into this and I’m pretty confident with what our investigators are doing already.”

Finner said the ultimate authority to end the show was with production and Scott.

"And that should be through communication with public safety officials," said Finner.

The chief was also asked about his relationship with Scott and whether it should be considered a conflict of interest.

“If you call meeting him twice a special relationship – and I’m not being smart, I just want to be open and transparent – that’s not a close relationship to me. I’ve only spoken to him twice. So, let’s put that to rest,” said Finner.

Finner noted that merchandise tents played a role in the craziness at the event.

“A big thing and big challenge was merchandise tents, very sought-after merchandise. That’s what caused some of the kids rushing towards that and breaking barriers, breaking down barriers,” said Finner.

The chief added that the investigation is going to take time.

“Timelines are a major focus of the investigation right now. This type of investigation is going to take weeks, possibly months, so I ask everyone to allow us to let the investigation lead us to the facts as to what, how and why this occurred,” said Finner.

While a countdown clock to Travis Scott's performance ticked away, it got harder to breathe Friday as people packed into the Astroworld Festival in Houston, some in the crowd told CNN. And once the concert started, cries for help went unheard as the music roared.

"They passed out. And they were on the ground and basically getting trampled. And no one would pick them up," concertgoer Billy Nasser told CNN on Monday. "There was just too many people there. It was overcrowded. The way the barricades were set up had people trapped in. It was a death trap."

At least 18 lawsuits have been filed through Tuesday after the crowd surge that left eight people dead and dozens more injured. And Scott, the rapper who headlined and organized the festival, will no longer perform at this weekend's Day N Vegas, that Nevada event's organizers announced.

One of those severely hurt Friday was a 9-year-old boy who's in a medically induced coma, his grandfather said. Five of the injured were in intensive care Monday, Houston's fire chief said.

Investigators are working to determine all possible causes of death and injuries to concertgoers, including whether a batch of counterfeit pills possibly laced with fentanyl played a role, according to The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the investigation. CNN is reaching out to authorities for comment regarding The Wall Street Journal's reporting.

Toxicology reports will have to be a key part in helping assess what happened, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said Monday.

"That's going to take weeks," she said.

While organizers have had issues with crowd control in the past, it is too early to draw conclusions about exact causes of death, Hidalgo said.

"There's a lot of evidence of drug use. Could that have been part of it? It's hard for these families to grieve without answers," she said.

It could take up to several weeks before ruling on causes of death, said Michele Arnold, a spokesperson for the Harris County Medical Examiner's Office.

Among those injured was a security officer who "was reaching out to restrain or grab a citizen and he felt a prick in his neck," Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said Saturday. The officer went unconscious and was revived after medical staff administered Narcan, a drug used to treat narcotic overdoses.

Live Nation and Drake among named defendants

At least 18 lawsuits related to the festival had been filed by Monday evening in Harris County District Court in Texas.

Event organizer Live Nation Entertainment was named as a defendant in all but one of the suits, while Scott was named in most. Other people and organizations involved in the concert, including NRG Stadium as well as actor and musician Drake, were named in at least one of the suits.

"The injuries have had a serious effect on the Plaintiff's health and well-being. Some of the effects are permanent and will abide with the Plaintiff for a long time into the future, if not for his entire life," one of the lawsuits stated.

Other lawsuits allege serious injuries from being "trampled" during the crowd crush as well as "emotional distress."

The lawsuit in which Drake is named accuses him of helping to incite the crowd as the "surprise guest" alongside Scott, both of whom stayed on stage as "the crowd became out of control," the suit says.

Drake posted Monday on social media: "My heart is broken for the families and friends of those who lost their lives and for anyone who is suffering. I will continue to pray for all of them, and will be of service in any way I can."

Scott tweeted on Saturday: "I'm absolutely devastated by what took place last night. My prayers go out to the families and all those impacted by what happened at Astroworld Festival."

NRG told CNN in a statement it is unable to comment at this time. CNN has reached out to Scott, Live Nation and others named in the suits.

Show continued during crowd surge

Scott will cover all funeral costs for those who were killed, according to a statement Monday from a representative.

"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," the statement 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."

Some city officials say more responsibility lies with Scott for continuing to perform while many in the crowd were under duress. And crowd control has been an issue at his shows in the past.

Scott pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in Arkansas in 2018, according to 40/29, after police say he encouraged people to rush the stage at a 2017 show. Two other misdemeanor charges, including inciting a riot, were dismissed.

Scott maintains he had no idea the extent of what was happening in the crowd during Friday's show. Footage from the concert's live stream also showed Scott pausing his performance and looking on in apparent confusion as an ambulance pulled into the crowd before finishing the concert.

Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peña believes if Scott had ended his performance sooner, it may have calmed the crowd, he said.

"If the lights would have been turned on — (if) the promoter or the artist called for that — it would have chilled the crowd, and who knows? Who knows what the outcome would have been? But everybody in that venue, starting from the artist on down, has a responsibility for public safety, I believe," Peña told CNN on Monday.

Yet at a Saturday news conference, when asked why the show was not stopped sooner, the police chief cited potential rioting "when you have a group that's young" in a crowd of roughly 50,000 people.

There was a "discussion between promoters, the fire department, the police department, and NRG officials" about stopping the event," Finner said.

HOUSTON —

Investigators are expected to examine the design of safety barriers and the use of crowd control in determining what led to a crush of spectators at a Houston music festival that left eight people dead and hundreds more injured.

Authorities planned to use videos, witness interviews and a review of concert procedures to figure out what went wrong Friday night during a performance by rapper Travis Scott. The tragedy unfolded when the crowd rushed the stage, squeezing people so tightly they couldn't breathe.

Billy Nasser, 24, who had traveled from Indianapolis to attend the concert, said about 15 minutes into Scott's set, things got "really crazy" and people began crushing one another. He said he "was picking people up and trying to drag them out."

Nasser said he found a concertgoer on the ground.

"I picked him up. People were stepping on him. People were like stomping, and I picked his head up and I looked at his eyes, and his eyes were just white, rolled back to the back of his head," he said.

Over the weekend, a makeshift memorial of flowers, votive candles, condolence notes and T-shirts took shape outside at NRG Park.

Michael Suarez, 26, visited the growing memorial after the concert.

"It's very devastating. No one wants to see or hear people dying at a festival," Suarez said. "We were here to have a good time — a great time — and it's devastating to hear someone lost their lives."

The dead, according to friends and family members, included a 14-year-old high school student; a 16-year-old girl who loved dancing; and a 21-year-old engineering student at the University of Dayton. The youngest was 14, the oldest 27.

Houston officials did not immediately release the victims' names or the cause of death, but family and friends began to name their loved ones and tell their stories Sunday.

Thirteen people remained hospitalized Sunday. Their conditions were not disclosed. Over 300 people were treated at a field hospital at the concert.

City officials said they were in the early stages of investigating what caused the pandemonium at the sold-out Astroworld festival, an event founded by Scott. About 50,000 people were there.

Authorities said that among other things, they will look at how the area around the stage was designed.

Julio Patino, of Naperville, Illinois, who was in London on business when he got a middle-of-the-night call informing him his 21-year-old son Franco was dead, said he had a lot of questions about what happened.

"These concerts should be controlled," Patino said. "If they don't know how to do that, they should have canceled the concert right then, when they noticed there was an overcrowd." He added: "They should not wait until they see people laying down on the floor, lifeless."

Steven Adelman, vice president of the industry group Event Safety Alliance, which was formed after the collapse of a stage at the Indiana State Fair in 2011 killed seven people, helped write industry guidelines widely used today.

Besides looking at safety barriers and whether they correctly directed crowds or contributed to the crush of spectators, Adelman said, authorities will look at whether something incited the crowd besides Scott taking the stage.

Adelman said another question is whether there was enough security there, noting there is a nationwide shortage of people willing to take low-wage, part-time security gigs.

"Security obviously was unable to stop people. Optically, that's really bad-looking," he said. "But as for what it tells us, it's too early to say."

Contemporary Services Corp., headquartered in Los Angeles, was responsible for security staff at the festival, according to county records in Texas. Representatives for the company — which advertises online as being "recognized worldwide as the pioneer, expert and only employee owned company in the crowd management field" — did not immediately respond to emails and phone messages seeking comment.

Houston police and fire department officials said their investigation will include reviewing video taken by concert promoter Live Nation, as well as dozens of clips from people at the show.

Officials also planned to review the event's security plan and various permits issued to organizers to see whether they were properly followed. In addition, investigators planned to speak with Live Nation representatives, Scott and concertgoers.

Izabella Ramirez of Texas City was celebrating her 21st birthday and said that once Scott came on stage, no one could move.

"Everybody was squishing in, and people were trying to move themselves to the front. You couldn't even lift up your arms," Ramirez said.

Ramirez said a security guard pulled her over the barricade, while her date, Jason Rodriguez, lifted her up.

"Everyone was yelling for different things. They were either yelling for Travis or they were yelling for help," Rodriguez said.

On video posted to social media, Scott could be seen stopping the concert at one point and asking for aid for someone in the audience: "Security, somebody help real quick."

There is a long history of similar catastrophes at concerts, sporting events and even religious events. In 1979, 11 people were killed as thousands of fans tried to get into Cincinnati's Riverfront Coliseum to see a concert by The Who. Other past crowd catastrophes include the deaths of 97 people at a soccer match in Hillsborough Stadium in 1989 in Sheffield, England, and numerous disasters connected with the annual hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.

Experts who have studied deaths caused by crowd surges say they are often a result of too many people packed into too small a space.

Also Sunday, one of the first of many expected lawsuits was filed on behalf of a man injured in the crush of people in state court in Houston. Attorneys for Manuel Souza sued Scott, Live Nation and others, saying they were responsible.

In a tweet posted Saturday, Scott said he was "absolutely devastated by what took place." He pledged to work "together with the Houston community to heal and support the families in need."

___

Associated Press writers Jake Bleiberg in Dallas; Randall Chase in Dover, Delaware; Kristin M. Hall in Nashville and Bob Christie in New Bloomfield, Pennsylvania, contributed to this report.

HOUSTON —

A lawsuit has been filed following the Astroworld Festival tragedy that left eight people dead and dozens injured in Houston on Friday night.

A concertgoer who was injured during the festival is suing rapper and producer Travis Scott, who was the organizer of the Astroworld Festival, as well as entertainment company Live Nation, concert promoter Scoremore and others involved in the event, according to the lawsuit obtained by CNN.

Manuel Souza, who is being represented by the law firm Kherkher Garcia, "suffered serious bodily injuries when the uncontrolled crowd at the concert knocked him to the ground and trampled him," according to the lawsuit filed in Harris County, Texas.

"Defendants failed to properly plan and conduct the concert in a safe manner," the lawsuit continued.

"Instead, they consciously ignored the extreme risks of harm to concertgoers, and, in some cases actively encouraged and fomented dangerous behaviors. Their gross negligence caused Plaintiff serious injuries."

A jury trial is preferred to determine the exact amount of damages, according to the lawsuit, but Souza is seeking "monetary relief of over $1,000,000."

CNN has reached out to Scott, Live Nation and Scoremore for comment on the lawsuit.

"Heartbroken for those lost and impacted at Astroworld last night," Live Nation, the company responsible for organizing the Astroworld Festival, said in a statement. "We will continue working to provide as much information and assistance as possible to the local authorities as they investigate the situation."

Live Nation is a concert promoter, venue operator and the owner of Ticketmaster. According to its website, it sells 500 million tickets to concerts and festivals each year.

The timeline of events on the evening of the tragedy

The Friday night crowd at the sold-out Astroworld Festival was so tightly packed that when audience members were pushed toward the stage, some told CNN, they were crushed to the point that they couldn't breathe and passed out.

Concertgoers described the event as traumatizing, with many witnesses saying they saw lifeless bodies being trampled amidst the chaos. Those who survived had to fight their way out of the crowd as the music continued.

Scott took the stage for his set shortly after 9 p.m. Officials said they were made aware of crowd surges early in his set, and received the first reports of injuries at approximately 9:30 p.m.

It is unclear what Scott saw from the stage and whether he was aware of the crowd conditions at the time, but he continued to perform until approximately 10:10 p.m. That is about 40 minutes after the first reports of injuries were made to officials and just over 30 minutes after officials declared the concert a "mass casualty event," according to times given by Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peña at a news conference Saturday morning.

Video from the concert's livestream also showed Scott pausing his performance and looking on in apparent confusion as an ambulance pulled into the crowd. He began performing against, but later stopped the concert.

Scott gave his first on-camera statement in a video posted to his Instagram account Saturday night.

"I'm honestly just devastated," Scott said as he repeatedly sighed and rubbed his forehead. "We're actually working right now to identify the families so we can help assist them through this tough time."

Some concertgoers have criticized organizers for continuing the show even as unresponsive people were being given CPR and carried away, but Scott indicated he was not aware of how severe things had gotten. "Any time I could make out, you know, anything that's going on, you know, I just stopped my show and, you know, helped them get the help they need."

The Houston Police Department tweeted Sunday the investigation into the tragedy is active and "in its early stages."

The lawsuit alleges, "Scott actively encourages his fans to 'rage' at his concerts. His express encouragement of violence has previously resulted in serious violence at numerous past concerts."

It also cites a since-deleted tweet from Scott in response to fan complaints about this concert's quick sell-out: "WE STILL SNEAKING THE WILD ONES IN. !!!!!"

The tragedy at Travis Scott's Astroworld Festival left eight people dead and dozens injured, as the crowd surged during the rapper's set.

The crowd at the Friday night show in Houston was so packed that when audience members were pushed toward the stage, some told CNN that they were crushed to the point where they couldn't breathe and passed out. Others were trampled, as calls for help were drowned out by the music.

Concertgoers told CNN that Scott stopped the show at least three times to ask for help for concertgoers in the crowd, though some have criticized the artist and organizers for allowing it to continue. A criminal investigation of the tragedy is now in its early stages.

Scott and his partner Kylie Jenner, who was in attendance at the Houston show, have stated in separate social media posts that they are devastated by the tragedy.

Jenner said both she and Scott didn't know what was happening in the crowd at the time.

"I want to make it clear we weren't aware of any fatalities until the news came out after the show and in no world would have continued filming or performing," she wrote.

Similar situations have erupted at concerts in the past — here's how artists have asked crowds to stay safe.

Linkin Park

When members of the band Linkin Park noticed that multiple people in the mosh pit at their show had fallen during one of their shows, they stopped playing, according to a video of the years-old incident shared on Twitter over the weekend.

"We got to look out for safety first, for real. Nobody gets hurt. That's number one," said Mike Shinoda in the video.

"We know we've been stressing all night about being cool, and this is the reason why," Chester Bennington said in the clip. "Let's go over it one more time: When someone falls, what do you do?"

"Pick them up," the crowd yelled back.

Dave Grohl

Another clip going viral in the wake of the Astroworld tragedy is one of Dave Grohl, who was seen stopping a Foo Fighters show in 2018 when he noticed a child who appeared to need a seat. It was later revealed that the child was blind and had autism.

"Hold on one second," Grohl said, pausing and pointing at someone in the crowd. "Does that kid need somewhere to sit?"

Grohl then invited the child and his parents to sit at the edge of the stage.

Slayer

In 2018, metal band Slayer were opening their final tour in San Diego, California, when the concert was paused due to the size of the crowd. Audience members were instructed to clear the aisles for safety reasons.

As fans booed the instructions, Tom Araya asked fans to cooperate.

"We live in a society of rules. But these rules are for your safety," he told the crowd. "They need to have cleared aisles so when something does happen, everybody has an exit, OK."

The show eventually continued.

ASAP Rocky

At a Rolling Loud performance in 2019, ASAP Rocky stopped a performance mid-set when he noticed some people had fallen.

"Everybody back up, look. Watch out," he begins. "Pick the girls up, bro. Pick the girls up... What's wrong with y'all."

The rapper continued yelling at the crowd to "back up" and "calm down" before he began performing again.

Playboi Carti

At Playboi Carti's Lollapalooza set this summer in Chicago, organizers came onstage to halt the rapper's performance, saying people were passing out -- information Carti immediately relayed to the fans, in a video posted after the Astroworld incident.

"They telling me it's a lot of people passing out. They keep stopping my music because people are passing out. I care about you guys' safety first," he said, as organizers continued to give him more information. "Everybody take three steps back and we can start the music right away."

Some social media users drew comparisons to Carti's set, saying that the organizers at Astroworld should have forced a stop like they did at Lollapalooza.

At another Playboi Carti show over the weekend, held after the tragedy at Astroworld, a safety warning was given to concertgoers ahead of the show, according to a video posted on TikTok.

"If you guys do not follow the rules, if you guys jump over to the floor, if you guys do anything that they consider dangerous, not one, not two, but just one person messing up, this show is over," the loudspeaker announcement said before Carti's appearance. "We are fighting, we are convincing them to let us do this show for you, but this show now, if it happens, it is on you. So please, let's have a good time and be respectful."

A concertgoer who was trampled Friday during Travis Scott's performance in Houston has filed a lawsuit against the rapper and several entities involved in hosting the deadly music festival.

Eight people died, and 25 people were hospitalized Friday during Scott's performance at the Astroworld music festival.

According to KHOU-TV and CNN, attorneys with the Kherkher Garcia Law Firm filed the lawsuit Sunday on behalf of a 35-year-old man who was allegedly trampled during the concert on Friday.

The suit alleges "gross negligence" and claims that organizers failed to institute proper safety measures during the set.

"I'm hearing the word trapped. I'm hearing the words 'not being able to breathe.' I'm hearing the word 'drowning,'" attorney Ryan Macleod said according to KHOU, describing the conditions during Scott's performance Friday.

During the set Friday, concertgoers constantly rushed toward the stage, pushing fans closer and closer together and closer and closer to barriers. The stage rushing came after concertgoers jumped barriers and evaded ticket-takers hours before the performance.

CNN reports that Scott's performance began around 9 p.m. local time, at which point police began receiving calls about injuries in the crowd. Police declared a "mass casualty event" around 9:40 p.m., but Scott's performance continued until after 10 p.m.

As of Monday morning, seven of the eight people killed had been identified. The victims ranged in age from as young as 14 to as old as 27.

In a press conference Saturday, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said that an investigation into the tragedy was ongoing.

"There are a lot of unanswered questions. Over the next several days, several weeks could be even longer. We'll take an in-depth look at everything that took place," Turner said.

On Saturday evening, Scott took to his Instagram story to address the situation. Though the video expired after 24 hours, it has since been posted to other platforms, like YouTube.

"I just want to send out prayers to the ones that was lost last night," Scott said. We're actually working right now to identify the families so we can help assist them through this tough time. You know, my fans really mean the world to me, and I always just want to leave them with a positive experience, and any time I can make out anything that's going on, you know I stop the show, and you know, help them get the help they need. I could just never imagine the severity of the situation.

"We've been working closely with everyone to just try and get to the bottom of this — the city of Houston, HPD, fire department. You know, everyone that will help us figure this out. If you have any information, please just contact your local authorities.

"Everybody, continue to keep your prayers. I mean, I'm honestly just devastated. I could never imagine anything like this happening. I'm going to do everything I can to keep you guys updated and keep you guys informed on what's going on."

Rapper Travis Scott says he will not perform at a Las Vegas music festival this weekend after eight people were killed in a trampling incident at his show in Houston on Friday night.

In addition to the eight people killed, 25 people suffered injuries that required hospitalization during Scott's performance at his Astroworld music festival.

On Monday, NBC News and Variety reported that Scott would no longer headline the Day N Vegas music festival this Saturday. Variety spoke to sources who said Scott was "too distraught to perform."

Scott's decision not to play Day N Vegas came as thousands of people signed an online petition calling on organizers to remove the rapper from the lineup.

Variety and NBC also report that Scott has promised to offer refunds to those who bought tickets to the Astroworld music festival.

During the set Friday, concertgoers constantly rushed toward the stage, pushing fans closer and closer together and closer and closer to barriers. The stage rushing came after concertgoers jumped barriers and evaded ticket-takers hours before the performance.

CNN reports that Scott's performance began around 9 p.m. local time, at which point police began receiving calls about injuries in the crowd. Police declared a "mass casualty event" around 9:40 p.m., but Scott's performance continued until after 10 p.m.

As of Monday morning, seven of the eight people killed had been identified. The victims ranged in age from as young as 14 to as old as 27.

Over the weekend, Scott addressed the incident in a series of videos on his Instagram story.

"We've been working closely with everyone to just try and get to the bottom of this — the city of Houston, HPD, fire department. You know, everyone that will help us figure this out. If you have any information, please just contact your local authorities," he said. "Everybody, continue to keep your prayers. I mean, I'm honestly just devastated. I could never imagine anything like this happening. I'm going to do everything I can to keep you guys updated and keep you guys informed on what's going on."

HOUSTON —

Officials in Texas say at least eight people are dead and several others injured in a crowd surge at the Astroworld Festival.

The surge broke out just after 9 p.m. Friday while rapper Travis Scott was performing, Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peña told reporters at a news conference.

“The crowd began to compress towards the front of the stage, and that caused some panic, and it started causing some injuries,” the fire chief said. “People began to fall out, become unconscious, and it created additional panic.”

The show was called off shortly after several people began suffering injuries.

Officials transported 17 people to the hospital, including 11 who were in cardiac arrest, Peña said. Many people were also treated at the scene at NRG Park, where a field hospital had been set up.

Approximately 50,000 people were in attendance at the festival, Peña said.

The fire chief added that officials did not immediately know the causes of death for the eight people who died. A medical examiner would investigate. The deceased had not been identified as of early Saturday.

Officials set up a reunification center at a hotel for family members who had not been able to reach relatives who had been in attendance at the event.

Astroworld is a two-day music festival that was scheduled to take place Friday and Saturday in Houston. The event was sold out, according to the Astroworld website. Saturday's performances have been canceled.

Event promoters had arranged for medical units to be on scene at the festival, however once the crowd surge began, those units were “quickly overwhelmed,” Peña said.

Houston Police Chief Troy Finner called for calm and urged people not to jump to conclusions as to what caused the surge.

“I think it's very important that none of us speculate. Nobody has all the answers tonight,” Finner said. He added that there have been several rumors surrounding the event that authorities would look into.

“We're going to do an investigation and find out because it's not fair to the producers, to anybody else involved, until we determine what happened, what caused the surge,” he said. “We don't know, but we will find out.”

HOUSTON —

José Urquidy started Eddie Rosario with strikes. Five of them in a row.

Looking calm and poised a night after overamped rotation-mate Framber Valdez was chased early, Urquidy's control gave the Astros' bats a chance to break out, and Houston rode a four-run second inning to a 7-2 win over Atlanta on Wednesday night that tied the World Series at one game apiece.

A 26-year-old right-hander from Mazatlan, Urquidy became the first Mexican pitcher to make three World Series starts. He was looking to rebound from his Game 3 loss at Boston in the AL Championship Series, when he got just five outs in a 12-3 defeat.

"My last outing was for sure bad," he said through a translator Tuesday, "but there's good days and bad days."

This was a very good day.

Urquidy started 15 of 21 batters with strikes in improving his career Series record to 2-0. He allowed two runs and six hits in five innings with seven strikeouts, throwing 55 of 74 pitches for strikes.

He mixed 38 fastballs, 16 changeups (getting five swings and misses), 12 sliders and eight curveballs, keeping the Braves off-balance other than Travis d'Arnaud's tying home run in the second inning and Freddie Freeman's two-out RBI single in the fifth.

A night earlier, Valdez threw just 11 of 21 pitches for strikes in the first inning, and the Braves burst to a 2-0 lead and never trailed. Valdez overthrew, and while his velocity was up, so were his pitches.

Urquidy recalled this week feeling nervous at the start of his Series debut, when he pitched five shutout innings of two-hit ball in a Game 4 win at Washington two years ago. He returned to face the Nationals' final three batters of Houston's Game 7 loss.

By now, he's used to the Series pressure.

"I know that it's a big job that I have," he said," but I'm more excited and have left the nerves to the side a little bit."

HOUSTON, Texas — Houston's police chief says four police officers have been terminated after an internal investigation determined they did not use reasonable force when they fired their weapons 21 times at a man who had been experiencing a mental health crisis.

The man, 27-year-old Nicolas Chavez, was already injured and on the ground when he was shot and killed by the officers on the night of April 21.

During a news conference Thursday, video footage was presented from body cameras showing Chavez, who had already been shot and was bleeding, kneeling on the ground and grabbing a stun gun when the four officers shot him.

WARNING: The video below contains graphic clips and may be difficult to watch.

"Let me be clear, it's objectively not reasonable to utilize deadly force when a man's already been shot multiple times, has been tased, has been on the ground, has shown that he really cannot get up," said Police Chief Art Acevedo on Thursday. "I cannot defend that."

At the briefing, Mayor Sylvester Turner said the dismissal of the four officers isn’t an indictment of the police department and its nearly 5,300 others officers.

“But when you are wrong, there are consequences,” he continued. “And for the good of every police officer who serves, for the good of everyone that followed the rules, that protect this city, it is important for us to call a ball a ball, and a strike, a strike."

Turner acknowledged the effect Chavez’s death has had on the city and expressed sympathy for his family.

"What happened the night of April 12 has dramatically affected many people and this city,” said the mayor. “Nicolas Chavez’ life was taken, and his family must live with their personal loss and anguish for the rest of their lives."

Leaders with the Houston Police Officers’ Union denounced the firings, saying the officers tried to de-escalate the situation but were forced to shoot Chavez.

“This unjust and deplorable decision by Chief Acevedo has sent a shock wave through HPD. Even if you deescalate, retreat, follow policy, training and the law...you will still lose your job as a Houston Police Officer,” tweeted Joe Gamaldi, the president of the Houston union.

Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said in a statement Thursday that prosecuters will be conducting an independent review of all the evidence in Chavez’s death and once it’s complete, the findings will be presented to a grand jury. They’ll determine whether charges will be brought against the officers involved.

Carlos Correa paused a few seconds at the plate and tapped the spot on his wrist where a watch would be.

“It’s my time!” the Houston Astros star screamed.

That it is.

And if his time with the Astros runs out at the end of this season, the star shortstop sure is making this an October to remember.

Correa hit a tiebreaking home run in the seventh inning, hollering toward his dugout before beginning his trot around the bases and propelling the Astros over the Boston Red Sox 5-4 Friday night in the AL Championship Series opener.

“When the playoffs start, (my teammates) always tell me: ‘It’s your time. Now to go out there, hit homers,'" Correa said. “They told me to hit the watch when I hit the homer."

Correa teamed with Jose Altuve to do just enough to overcome the heroics of Kiké Hernández, who starred with his bat and glove for the wild-card Red Sox.

“I’ve been watching them for years, and it’s a pleasure to be watching them up close and personal," manager Dusty Baker said. “And, boy, they are some clutch guys."

Altuve tied the game with a two-run shot in the sixth before Correa connected off losing pitcher Hansel Robles with two outs in the seventh to put the Astros ahead 4-3.

Correa, who has been with the Astros since being selected first overall in 2012, becomes a free agent at season’s end and it seems likely that he won’t remain in Houston.

Correa has a history of big hits for Houston that includes 18 postseason home runs, several of them in key, late situations.

“Playoff time, baby,” Correa said.

“We want to be in the spotlight,” he said. “We want to be in the moment.”

He had three hits, and his performance gave him 55 postseason RBIs, passing Albert Pujols for the most among active MLB players.

Hernández, who won a World Series with the Dodgers last year, homered twice among his four hits and likely saved multiple runs with two terrific catches.

His second homer came off closer Ryan Pressly to start the ninth and cut the lead to 5-4. But Pressly retired the next three batters to get the save.

"It would have been a lot cooler if we won the game," Hernández said.

Game 2 is Saturday in Houston.

Ahead 4-3, the Astros loaded the bases with no outs in the eighth when Hirokazu Sawamura plunked Martín Maldonado. Houston added some insurance when Yuli Gurriel slid in just before the tag to score on a sacrifice fly by Altuve that made it 5-3, beating a terrific throw by Hernandez.

Hernández has been red hot for the Red Sox this October, with 13 hits in his last four games to set an MLB record for most hits in a four-game span in one postseason. He passed Billy Hatcher (1999), Marquis Grissom (1995), Hideki Matsui (2004) and Randy Arozarena (2020), who all had 11.

“Enrique is en fuego,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said.

Chas McCormick singled with one out in the sixth before Altuve became the fourth player in MLB history to hit at least 20 postseason homers with his shot to left-center off Tanner Houck that tied it at 3.

Hernández opened a three-run third with his soaring homer to center field to tie it at 1-all.

Xander Bogaerts walked with one out and Rafael Devers singled. J.D. Martinez hit a grounder to Altuve for what should have been a routine play. But the ball grazed the second baseman's glove and rolled between his legs for an error that allowed Martinez to reach and Bogaerts to score to put Boston up 2-1.

Hunter Renfroe then hit an RBI double to left field to extend it to 3-1 before Houston's two brightest stars came through late.

“Experience matters,” Correa said.

Altuve and Correa, connecting again for a team trying to reach the World Series for the second time in three years. The Astros also won the championship in 2017, a crown tainted by the team's sign-stealing scandal.

Both teams leaned heavily on their bullpens after both Boston starter Chris Sale and Houston’s Framber Valdez were chased in the third.

Ryne Stanek got the last out of the seventh for the win.

Sale, who was tagged for five runs in one inning in his previous start against Tampa Bay in the AL Division Series, permitted five hits and a run in 2 2/3 innings Friday. Valdez gave up six hits and three runs — two earned — while also getting just eight outs.

“Everything as a whole clicked a little bit better tonight. My command was spotty at times, but when I really needed it, I could bear down and grab what I’ve been looking for," Sale said.

The Astros led 1-0 after Altuve scored on a sacrifice fly by Yordan Alvarez in the first.

For the next few innings it looked like it wouldn't be the Astros' night.

Houston loaded the bases with one out in the second, but Altuve struck out before Sale escaped the jam with a huge assist from Hernández in center field. Hernández, whose MLB debut came when he subbed for Altuve late in a game in 2014, sprinted to rob Michael Brantley with a diving catch in shallow center to end the inning.

The Astros had runners at first and second with two outs in the fifth when Hernández struck again. He made a back-handed grab in right-center on a ball hit by Kyle Tucker to leave them empty-handed once more.

Hernández even seemed surprised he made the grab, contorting his face into a shocked look after the ball hit his glove.

Hernández said the fly flew like a knuckleball.

“Tim Wakefield, R.A. Dickey, they’ve got nothing on that ball," he said.

UP NEXT

Boston’s Nathan Eovaldi (1-0, 2.61 ERA) will have a homecoming of sorts Saturday when he starts opposite rookie Luis Garcia (0-0, 16.88). Eovaldi grew up in the Houston suburb of Alvin, also home to Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan, and visited the Astrodome and Minute Maid Park often growing up.

“It’s definitely one of my favorite ballparks to pitch in,” Eovaldi said.

Saturday will be his third start this postseason. He struck out eight in 5 1/3 innings and got the win in the wild-card victory over the Yankees. He also started Game 3 of the ALDS but did not factor in the decision in a 6-4 Red Sox win.

Garcia struggled in a Game 3 start in the division series, permitting five runs in just 2 2/3 innings of a 12-6 loss.

A former student who allegedly shot and injured a principal at a school in Houston has been charged.

In a news release on Saturday, Houston police said that Dexter Harold Kelsey, 25, was charged with aggravated assault against a public servant and deadly conduct in the shooting of 36-year-old Eric Espinsosa on Friday at YES Prep Southwest Secondary.

Espinsosa was treated at a nearby hospital and was later released.

No students were harmed.

Police said Kelsey had fired a rifle at the glass entry door to the school to gain entry.

While attempting to alert teachers and students, Espinosa was struck in the lower back by a bullet, police said.

Police said Espinosa continued to help students and teachers flee the school when officers arrived and arrested Kelsey.

According to jail records, Kelsey's bond has been set to $5.25 million.

Three parking valets were fatally struck by a driver fleeing police late Friday in Houston, police said.

The pursuit started after a police sergeant saw a car doing donuts in a private parking lot about 10 p.m. local time, Houston Police Assistant Chief Yasar Bashir told reporters.

When the car moved onto Fairdale Lane, the sergeant activated his emergency lights to make a traffic stop, according to Bashir. "The vehicle accelerated at a very high speed."

Bashir said the sergeant saw the car strike three people working as valets for a local business. The car came to a stop after entering a ditch. The car appeared to be traveling at least 60 mph when it crashed.

The three valets were pronounced dead at the scene, Bashir said.

The driver and a passenger were transported to a local hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening, according to Bashir.

Sean Teare, chief of the Harris County District Attorney's vehicular crimes division, said his office and Houston police were reviewing dash camera footage.

"We're out here because one person decided they didn't want to get a ticket or potentially go to jail for a misdemeanor," Teare said.

He added, referring to the victims, "We're talking about three individuals who are just out there working."

Teare said investigators are looking into whether the driver was impaired.

The driver potentially faces at least three counts of felony murder, Teare said.

Authorities in Houston said a school employee was seriously injured when a former student shot him on Friday.

In a media briefing, Police Chief Troy Finner said the shooting happened at YES Prep Southwest Secondary at approximately 11:45 a.m.

Chief Finner said the 25-year-old suspect shot through a locked glass door then shot the unnamed employee in the back.

The employee was sent to the hospital in serious condition, Chief Finner said.

No students were injured.

Police have not released a motive and are investigating whether the suspect and the employee had any past interactions.

According to the Associated Press, the suspect turned himself into police.

CNN —

Around 65 people were sickened Saturday afternoon at a Houston-area water park in what local officials called a chemical incident.

"In the area around the kiddie pool in this water park, a lifeguard was sick, and soon after that, more and more people began becoming sick," Harris County Judge Lina Hildalgo said in a news conference outside Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Splashtown in Spring, Texas.

"What began as a fun family day has turned into very much a nightmare for many families," she said.

Public health officials are ordering the park to remain closed until they determine exactly what happened.

"The chemical combination was about 30-35% sulfuric acid and 10-13% bleach, and that's all we have at this time," said Spring Fire Department Chief Scott Seifert.

Hidalgo said all equipment readings during the incident and samples taken immediately afterward showed conditions within normal legal limits, but added that actually makes her more concerned. "Their current procedures very clearly cannot adequately ensure health and safety," she said.

Most patients had what Seifert described as "respiratory distress."

Ladder truck used to decontaminate those affected

A 3-year-old girl was the "most serious case" and was taken to Texas Children's Hospital but is now stable, according to Hidalgo. Another victim was a pregnant woman who was believed to be in labor as she was transported from the park, said Hidalgo.

"If you were at the water park, if you are feeling sick, please make sure you seek medical attention. If you feel sick, call 911. If you find yourself in the emergency room, please, as soon as you walk in, let them know that you were here. Do not sit in the waiting room with other folks because we don't know yet exactly what chemical, what caused these illnesses. And so we don't want to expose other folks to that," she said.

Chief Seifert said 26 people were taken to area hospitals and 39 refused transport. He said they were decontaminated before leaving the park.

"What we do is we set up our ladder truck that has a nozzle on the end, we point it straight down about 15 feet above where the people will walk through, and they walk through there and they basically massage their eyes and things like that to get any chemicals out of their eyes if they're affected. And then, after a period of time, they'll walk through it and walk out," Seifert told reporters.

The park was last inspected June 29, according to Harris County Fire Marshal Laurie Christensen, with nothing problematic found at the time.

"The safety of our guests and team member is always our highest priority and the park was immediately cleared as we try to determine a cause," park spokesperson Rosie Shepard said in a statement to CNN affiliate KPRC Saturday evening.

A high school senior class in Texas has a lot of multiples who are graduating, including three sets of triplets.Of the 664 students in the senior class at Memorial High School in Houston, there are also 18 pairs of twins.As for the triplets, some of them will be going their separate ways from one another for the first time to go to college."I'm going to miss these two," Alexander Garcia said of his brother and sister Nina and Seth."Everything I've experienced now, I've had them two to lean on," said Glenn Elie, of his siblings Lauren and Gaston. "But now, it's just me on my own."Watch the video above to learn more about this story.

HOUSTON —

The nine-month old Bengal tiger that has been missing for days in Houston was found Saturday and was transferred to the appropriate authorities, officials said.

"We are happy to report that the missing tiger seen in a Houston neighborhood last week has been found and appears to be unharmed," Houston police tweeted.

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Houston Police Commander Ron Borza identified Gia Cuevas and her husband, Victor Hugo Cuevas, as the owners of the tiger during a Saturday night press conference.

The tiger appears to be in good health, Borza said. Animal control officials in Houston will be delivering the tiger to an animal sanctuary Sunday, according to police.

Gia Cuevas turned in the tiger to the authorities, said Borza, adding that she is not facing any charges at this time. Borza didn't say how the couple obtained the tiger.

It is illegal to house a tiger in Houston, Borza said.

"In no way shape or form should you have an animal like that in your household," Borza said. "That animal can get to 600 pounds. It still had his claws, and it could do a lot of damage if he decided to."

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The tiger is currently secured at BARC, the city's animal shelter and adoption agency, said Mary Benton, communications director for the city. The tiger will be medically evaluated before being transported to the Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch wildlife sanctuary on Sunday, the City of Houston Mayor's Office said a media release.

Victor Hugo Cuevas was the man last seen with the tiger last Sunday, and he was taken into custody Friday after a Fort Bend County judge revoked his bond on a pending, unrelated murder charge from 2017.

Michael Elliott, his attorney, had said the tiger did not belong to Cuevas, but rather that he had been looking after the animal for its owner. But on Saturday, Borza said the tiger belonged to Cuevas.

"It is Victor's tiger," Borza said. "That's what I was told by [Gia], and she is the wife of Victor, and she says they've had that animal for nine months."

When Cuevas was allegedly seen with the tiger on April 9 in a West Houston neighborhood, he was out on bond on the murder charge in Fort Bend County and on a separate charge of evading arrest earlier this year in nearby Austin County.

Cuevas was arrested Monday for evading police in Harris County regarding the missing tiger.

The tiger was not with him at the time of arrest, and its fate and whereabouts have captured the nation's imagination since.