HOUSTON — Father and son Dan and Brayden Smith say they are left mortified after attending Travis Scott’s music festival in Houston after several people were killed during the event.
The Smiths are glad to be back in the Natural State but say they're scarred from the deadly incident at Astroworld Festival Friday, Nov. 5. They describe their experience as pure chaos.
"It was just an atmosphere of everyone panicking because there was so many people crammed into the pit," Brayden said.
He has attended four Travis Scott concerts in the past but says none were like this.
"The atmosphere when we got there was unsettling."
Crowds broke the gates and attempted to rush the stage. During a concert at the Walmart AMP in 2017, Scott was arrested for encouraging this kind of behavior.
“If you want to get in this pit this is your last chance right now,” Scott said during the 2017 concert, followed by screaming fans.
"They were just getting trampled and people beside me and behind me were passing out and dropping to the floor and then that space that they had would be pushed in,” Brayden said. “So, I didn't see them after that."
Brayden said later saw lifeless bodies.
"People were turning black and blue in the face. Like, they were on the ground because they couldn't breathe," he said.
His father Dan, was a distance away from Brayden toward the back of the crowd. Whenever Dan heard of possible deaths, he began to worry.
"At that point I was panicked, and I felt that there was a good chance that he was one of the ones down," Dan said.
He later received a call from his son.
"It was just a huge relief to hear his voice and to know that he was ok," he said.
Dan says "God's hand" was on them that night.
"Something out of a horror movie seeing all of the lifeless bodies being passed into security," he said.
Houston Police are investigating the incident. They are looking at videos, interviewing witnesses and checking reports of someone being injected with drugs during the incident.
''We do have a report of a security officer, that he was reaching over to restrain or grab a citizen and he felt a prick in his neck,” said Troy Finner Houston Police Chief.
Scott released a video statement, reflecting on the incident.
''Any time I can make out anything that's going on, I'd stop the show and help them get the help they need,” Scott said. Adding that he'll do what he can to help victims' families.
The Smiths left Houston a day early and say they are glad to be alive and back home in Fort Smith. However, they say they are experiencing guilt since some did not make it home from the concert that night.