A 9-year-old boy who suffered brain trauma in the crowd surge at the Astroworld Festival in Houston last week, has died, lawyers for his family said. Ezra Blount is the 10th and so far the youngest victim of the tragic Astroworld concert, that saw hundreds injured as rapper Travis Scott continued to perform.
Blount succumbed to his injuries on Sunday, his family said. He had gone to the concert with his father to see Scott's performance. However, poor management resulted in a stampede and Blount trampled over and suffered brain injuries, according to his grandfather.
Young Life Lost
The young boy was been sitting on the shoulders of his father, Treston Blount, when Scott opened his set at NRG Park in Houston on November 5. However, both were caught up in the chaos that unfolded when fans rushed the stage.
Both the father and the son suffered injuries but the boy had to be rushed to hospital because his wounds were to the brain. Since then Ezra Blount was in medically induced coma in order to overcome trauma to his brain, according to his grandfather. Later, he also suffered kidney and liver trauma.
However, Ezra succumbed to his injuries on Sunday. The devastated family is now demanding justice and is holding Scott responsible for the entire chaos.
"He was stoked, he was ready to go, From the McDonalds commercials to Fortnite, Ezra was already a big fan," his father said in an interview with ABC13 earlier this week.
Seeing the crowd swell, the father and the son stayed toward the rear of the crowd, so that they could avoid the rowdiness at the front of the stage.
"Everything was cool for a split second," Blount said.
The crowd quickly surged forward forcing bodies together, suffocating the boy and his father. Blount lost consciousness in the chaos.
"I'm yelling out, 'I can't breathe!' There's other people around me saying they can't breathe. It was definitely a moment where I didn't know what to do," he said.
Family Wants Justice
Once the crowd erupted Ezra's father passed out from the pressure and the boy fell to the ground and was trampled in the crowd.
When the father finally regained consciousness, "instead of being seen or getting himself checked out, he went and tried to find Ezra and ended up finding him at the Texas Children's hospital," the boy's grandfather said.
The hospital initially unable to trace the identity of the child booked him as "John Doe". Ezra since was in coma and died without regaining consciousness.
Ezra's parents hired high-profile lawyer Benjamin Crump, as well as Alex Hilliard, Bob Hilliard and Paul Grinke, to represent them in a lawsuit alleging that organizers failed at crowd control during the planned two-day concert organized by hip-hop star Travis Scott.
Crump is already representing several other people injured in lawsuits against concert's organizers. He is also known for representing George Floyd's family after Floyd's 2020 death at the hands of Minneapolis police.
In a statement Sunday announcing Ezra's death, Crump's office said: "Ezra sustained life-threatening injuries and was placed in a medically induced coma on life support in an attempt to combat his brain, liver, and kidney trauma.
"This should not have been the outcome of taking their son to a concert, what should have been a joyful celebration," the statement reads. "Ezra's death is absolutely heartbreaking. We are committed to seeking answers and justice for the Blount family. But tonight we stand in solidarity with the family, in grief, and in prayer."
The young boy's death mark's the tragic concert's death toll to 10. On the tragic night of the show, eight concertgoers died. The ninth victim, 22-year-old college student Bharti Shahani, was confirmed dead last week.
