(HOUSTON) — A 9-year-old is fighting for his life following the deadly chaos at rapper Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival, which left eight people dead many more injured last Friday.
Now, his family is joining the wave of lawsuits being filed against the event organizers, venue management and performers at the concert.
Ezra Blount went to the concert at NRG Park in Houston with his father, and was on his father’s shoulders when the crowd surge began, Ezra’s grandparents told ABC Houston station KTRK-TV.
Ezra was separated from his father, and his grandparents said they found him alone at the hospital in a coma, suffering from major organ damage and severe brain swelling.
“He’s a small, innocent child,” Ezra’s grandfather Bernon Blount, told KTRK-TV. “He didn’t deserve it. He didn’t deserve it at all. He’s just coming into town to see one of his favorite artists and to be trampled like that and really left the hospital with no one knowing where he was. That’s heartbreaking.”
According to Houston Police and witness accounts, tens of thousands of people dangerously rushed toward the stage when Scott — and later, rapper Drake — appeared. Concert attendees recall being pushed into one another from all sides, pushed down to the floor, and trampled or crushed by other concertgoers.
According to a GoFundMe, his father, Treston Blount, said he began to be crushed by others and could not breathe. He passed out and fell, and Ezra fell along with him, getting trampled by others in the crowd.
“How could this happen in the city of Houston? You know, when we go to concerts and different events we expect safety and security,” Ezra’s grandfather told KTRK-TV.
Now, family members are asking for answers about who is responsible for this tragedy as they await Ezra’s recovery.
“We’re praying that he makes a full recovery. And we have faith in the doctors that are treating him,” Treston Blount told the station. “We just wish something more would be done because no family deserves to be going through this.”
The family’s lawsuit, filed by civil rights attorney Ben Crump, alleges negligence regarding crowd control, medical attention and event staffing.
“This young child and his family will face life-altering trauma from this day forward, a reality that nobody expects when they buy concert tickets,” Crump said in a statement to ABC News. “This little boy is currently fighting for his life, and his parents will never know the same child they entered Astroworld with.”
In an online statement, Houston Chief of Police Troy Finner said he met with Travis Scott and security officials to address safety concerns prior to the concert. Finner said the criminal investigation into the incident is ongoing and urges the community to be “considerate of the grieving families.”
Following the concert, Scott released a statement on the tragedy on Twitter, saying, “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.”
Scott announced he will cover the funeral costs and further aid to individuals affected by the tragedy and will refund all of the Astroworld concertgoers and ticket holders. He has also said he is cooperating with investigators.
Neither Scott nor his attorneys have responded publicly to the lawsuits.
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