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Crowd crush and opiate stabbings: 8 dead in Houston concert chaos

Eight people were left dead after a chaotic crowd crush at a concert in Houston, Texas, with authorities confirming that at least one person was stabbed with a hypodermic needle.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

Eight people were left dead after a chaotic crowd crush at a concert in Houston, Texas, with authorities confirming that at least one person was stabbed with a hypodermic needle.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner confirmed at a press conference on Saturday afternoon that eight concertgoers ranging in age from 14 to 27 had died during a performance by rapper Travis Scott at the Astroworld Festival on Friday evening.

At least 25 others, including several minors, were hospitalized for injuries, Turner said.

“The crowd began to compress towards the front of the stage, and that caused some panic, and it started causing some injuries,” said Fire Chief Samuel Peña.

“People began to fall out, become unconscious, and it created additional panic”

Authorities estimated that there were some 50,000 people at the outdoor event.

Police Chief Troy Finner acknowledged “a lot of narratives” floating around on social media about the incident, but urged the public to wait patiently as authorities conduct a “proper investigation.”

Finner revealed that a security guard was confirmed to have been jabbed in the neck with a hypodermic needle, which may have contained opiates.

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Paramedics used Narcan, a drug which reverses opiate overdoses, to revive the security guard and several other concertgoers. A source told TMZ that a crazed man stabbing concertgoers with the hypodermic needle may have been what triggered the deadly crowd crush.

All of the victims are undergoing drug tests, as it may be that some died from overdoses, rather than the crowd trampling.

“This is now a criminal investigation that’s going to involve our homicide division as well as narcotics,” said Finner. “And we’re going to get to the bottom of it.”

He added that a 10-year-old injured in the event was hospitalized in critical condition.

Scott, the rapper who was performing at the time of the disaster, released a statement on Saturday saying he was “absolutely devastated by what took place last night.”

The 29-year-old, who shares a daughter with Kim Kardashian’s sister Kylie Jenner, added that his “prayers go out to the families and all those impacted by what happened at Astroworld Festival.”