The 9-year-old boy who had been on life support after he was trampled at Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival in Houston has died. Ezra Blount succumbed to his injuries on Sunday, his family said.
Ezra had been sitting on the shoulders of his father, Treston Blount, when Scott opened his set at NRG Park in Houston on Nov. 5. Both were caught up in the chaos that unfolded when fans rushed the stage.
His father said the rapper was one of his son’s favorite artists.
“He was stoked, he was ready to go, From the McDonald’s commercials to ‘Fortnite,’ Ezra was already a big fan,” his father said in an interview with ABC13 earlier this week.
They had stayed toward the rear of the crowd in order to avoid the rowdiness expected near the front of the stage.
“Everything was cool for a split second,” Blount said.
But the crowd quickly surged forward, forcing bodies together, suffocating Ezra 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.
When he regained consciousness, he was unable to find young Ezra, who had been trampled under the feet of the crowd. Panicked, he rushed to medical tents and local hospitals to try to locate his son. He filed a police report, and later received a photo of the boy.
“Just to see him in that condition. I just wasn’t ready for that,” Blount said.
At the hospital, Blount learned Ezra’s internal organs had been severely damaged and his brain was swollen. He had been on life support until Sunday.
The young boy’s death raises the tragic concert’s death toll to 10. On the tragic night of the show, eight victims were pronounced dead. The ninth victim, 22-year-old college student Bharti Shahani, was confirmed dead last week.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump has filed a lawsuit for Blount and nearly 100 other families in civil suits against various persons and entities connected to the concert. The lawsuit names Scoremore Mgmt, Live Nation Entertainment, Travis Scott, Cactus Jack Records, and others as defendants. The attorney said Friday he is representing more than 200 victims who suffered mentally and physically.
On Sunday, Crump released a statement on Ezra’s death:
“The Blount family tonight is grieving the incomprehensible loss of their precious young son,” Crump said in a statement. “This should not have been the outcome of taking their son to a concert, what should have been a joyful celebration. 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.”