"It’s like you’re looking at a war zone," says attorney inspecting Astroworld concert site
From CNN's Claudia Dominguez
Law firms have received access to inspect the Astroworld concert site in the aftermath of last weekend’s deadly incident in Houston, Texas.
One attorney described the site as looking like a “war zone."
Attorney Alex Hilliard told CNN he was at the site Tuesday to inspect the site after a court ordered the preservation of the scene.
“There are about 1,800 pairs of shoes, clothing,” Hilliard said. “It’s like you’re looking at a war zone.You see blood on the clothes, shoes, cellphones everywhere.”
Attorneys for another firm, Kherkher Garcia LLP, said in a news release that they’ve been at the festival site at NRG Park since obtaining a court order Monday to inspect the scene.Attorneys for the firm are using drones and scanners to map the scene.
"We’re not gonna leave any stones unturned," Houston police chief says on Astroworld probe
From CNN’s Jennifer Henderson
Houston Police Chief Troy Finner was asked if he anticipated any charges being filed in the investigation into the Astroworld crowd surge which left eight people dead and many more injured. Finner said he wasn’t sure, but added, “we’re not gonna leave any stones unturned.”
Finner was also asked about his relationship with Travis Scott and whether he met with Scott prior to the Astroworld Festival.
He confirmed that he spoke with Scott before the concert but said he had "no reason to believe it wasn't going to be safe" at that time.
Finner said he meets with people whenever he can and that included Travis Scott. He said the conversation with Scott was very respectful.
When asked whether he could fairly investigate this incident because of his relationship with Scott, Finner said he has only met Scott twice and doesn’t consider their relationship to be close.
Houston police chief pushes back on idea of outside independent investigation of Astroworld concert
From CNN's Dave Alsup
Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said he sees no reason for an independent outside investigation into the Astroworld Festival tragedy.
When asked Wednesday if it was appropriate for the Houston Police Department to investigate the accident with so many officers present at the event, Finner responded “Why is it not? We investigate ourselves all the time.”
Finner said he is “not against an independent investigation when it’s warranted."
"It’s not warranted right now," Finner said.
2 people injured at Astroworld remain in critical condition, Houston Fire Department says
From CNN’S Rosa Flores in Houston
Two people who were injured at the Astroworld Festival over the weekend are still in the hospital in critical condition, Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peña told CNN.
CNN has previously reported thata 9-year-old boy, E.B., who was seriously injured at the Astroworld Festival on Friday night, is in a medically-induced coma in an attempt to combat his brain trauma, according to the boy's grandfather, Bernon Blount.
Houston police chief says he has no "special relationship" with rapper Travis Scott
From CNN's Josiah Ryan
Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said he does not have a special relationship with rapper Travis Scott, saying the two have only met twice, including once before the concert.
Finner was responding to a question from a reporter on whether his agency could fairly lead an investigation into the Astroworld incident which left eight people dead and many more injured in a crowd surge.
"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."
"I've only spoken to him twice," Finner added.
Finner confirmed that he spoke with Scott before the concert but said he had "no reason to believe it wasn't going to be safe" at that time.
"I'm the kind of chief who meets with people," he said.
"No one injected drugs" into security officer at the Astroworld festival, Houston police chief says
Houston Police Chief Troy Finner clarified statements about a male security officer at the Astroworld Festival who was attended to by medical staff after an incident.
On Saturday, Finner said one security officer said he was stuck in the neck Friday night during Astroworld when trying to restrain a concert-goer.
Upon further investigation, the officer was actually struck on the head, Finner said.
"He said no one injected drugs in him," Finner said Wednesday.
Houston police chief: "This type of investigation is going to take weeks, possibly months"
Houston Police Chief Troy Finner opened his news conference Wednesday afternoon with words of reassurance that the investigation into the tragedy at the Astroworld Festival is ongoing.
"This type of investigation is going to take weeks, possibly months," Finner said. "As police chief, I can promise you one thing, my team is going to be laser-focused on investigating the facts, not pointing fingers at other organizations. Assumptions and opinions are not helpful."
NOW: Houston Police Department speaks to reporters
The Houston Police Department is holding a news briefing to update on the Astroworld Festival mass casualty incident.
They announced the press conference earlier today in a tweet.
Houston firefighters union complains about communications with medics hired by Astroworld concert
From CNN's Rosa Flores and Victor Blackwell
Houston firefighters stationed outside the Astroworld concert venue Friday night were not in radio communications with emergency medical providers hired by the concert organizers as the deadly crowd swell unfolded, the city’s fire chief told CNN Tuesday.
According to the president of the city’s firefighter union, the Houston Fire Department officials on standby nearby the venue had asked concert organizers for a radio to communicate with ParaDocs, the emergency medical providers, but were only provided with cellphone numbers.
At least 528 Houston Police officers were inside the venue as well as 755 private security personnel and members of the ParaDocs medical team, CNN has previously reported.
Patrick M. “Marty” Lancton, the president of the Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association, said that cellphones are not a reliable communication method during emergencies, given potential signal weakness during events involving large gatherings.
“Seconds matter, minutes matter in emergencies,” Lancton told CNN.
The city’s fire department had set up outside the venue as a proactive measure and was in radio communication with the Houston Police Department, according to Houston Fire Department Chief Samuel Peña.
"We were in direct communications with the Houston Police Department, and we were in communications with the Harris County Emergency Corps, which was providing some of the transport units for that event," Peña told CNN's Victor Blackwell on CNN Newsroom.
"We were also in phone communication with ParaDocs, which was the private company providing the medical component. There was a lot of communication, a lot of chatter and as you can expect in an incident that gets complex, there's a lot of radio communication. Was it challenging? It was at times, but we were able to overcome and deploy resources efficiently when the need arose," Peña said.
Pressed by Blackwell on whether the fire department was in communication with the concert organizers during the event, Peña said they were not.
"No, on scene we did not have direct communications with those organizers," Peña said.
As the mass casualty event unfolded, the fire department surged its resources into the crowd, eventually transporting 12 “very critical” victims, in many cases with CPR in progress.
“It was not a 911 call but our own leadership that recognized that resources were getting overwhelmed, deployed a task force of 11 ambulances, later escalating to a mass casualty incident and getting an additional 11 ambulances to that location,” Assistant Fire Chief Ruy Lozano told CNN earlier Tuesday.
CNN has reached out to ParaDocs for comment.
