A 9-year-old boy is among the victims of the Astroworld music festival tragedy and is reportedly in a coma, clinging to life.
According to the New York Post and KTRK, Ezra Blount’s father had been holding him on his shoulders at the concert when the massive crowd rush caused the 9-year-old boy’s father to pass out, and the boy fell. Ezra was then trampled, his paternal grandfather said.
“My son had Ezra on his shoulders at the concert and my son couldn’t breathe because of all the pressure that was being applied to him and he passed out,” Ezra’s grandfather told KTRK.
“And when he passed out, Ezra fell into the crowd. He was trampled really bad.”
According to the reports, the boy suffered a cardiac arrest and had already been transported to a hospital when his father regained consciousness. The grandfather, who along with the boy’s father remains unidentified, said Ezra’s internal organs — including his lungs and heart — have been damaged, and that he has swelling in his brain.
The child has damage to his kidney, lungs, and heart and is suffering from brain swelling, his grandfather said.
“He’s a small innocent child — he didn’t deserve that, he didn’t deserve that at all.”
As the New York Post reports, Ezra’s family is among several who have hired well-known attorney Ben Crump to represent them in a lawsuit against the concert organizers. Crump reportedly said the boy was in a medically-induced coma due to his brain injury, and gave a statement to the newspaper.
“The suffering that this family is going through is immeasurable,” the statement read. “This little boy had his whole life ahead of him – a life that is currently hanging in the balance because of the reckless mismanagement that ensued at the Astroworld Festival. We ask everyone to send up the most powerful prayers they can as this family tries to grapple with the undoable damage that has been done to their son. We demand justice for EB, his family, and all of our clients that left Astroworld with trauma.”
Ezra’s grandfather criticized those involved with the music festival for what he said was a lack of concern, but did not address rapper Travis Scott, who was performing at the time of the crowd rush, by name.
“I’ve seen apologies online that didn’t look sincere from people who participated in that event,” the grandfather said. “If you feel so bad why aren’t you down here at the hospital checking on your fans?”
At least eight people died and hundreds more were injured during the chaos. The incident remains under investigation, and authorities have not yet filed any criminal charges.
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[Feature image: Festival goers are seen rushing into the VIP area prior to Travis Scott performing during day one of the Astroworld Music Festival at NRG Park on Friday, Nov. 5, 2021, in Houston. Several people died and numerous others were injured in what officials described as a surge of the crowd at the music festival while Scott was performing. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)]
