Astroworld tragedy: 9-year-old struggles for survival after Travis Scott's concert

After the tragedy at the Astroworld Festival, a nine-year-old boy with serious injuries is in a coma. The family blames Travis Scott and the police.

Update from November 10th, 2021, 10:07 a.m.: A nine-year-old boy was seriously injured at the concert by US rapper Travis Scott at the Astroworld Festival on Friday (November 5th, 2021, local time). There was a crowd in front of the stage at the Houston festival. A total of eight people were killed and many more were injured. Including nine-year-old Ezra Blount. Because the boy had suffered severe swellings in his brain and multiple organ damage, he had to be put into an artificial coma. This was reported by Rolling Stone magazine.

The boy is said to have attended the concert with his father. When the tragedy occurred, he is said to have been sitting on his father’s shoulders. The pressure of the crowd, which started shortly after Scott had entered the stage at 9 p.m., is said to have separated the two from each other. “He kept screaming, ‘I can’t breathe.’ But everyone was pushing. It was so tight with no exits. His father couldn’t breathe at all and passed out. We don’t really know what happened to Ezra after that, ”the boy’s grandmother, Tericia Blount, told Rolling Stone.

After the Astroworld Festival in Houston: 9-year-old boy seriously injured and in a coma

The family is said to have found Ezra later in a nearby hospital. “We’re very angry right now because someone is responsible for our grandson’s condition,” said Bernon Blount, Ezra’s grandfather, the Rolling Stone. “Someone should be held responsible for this. He went there with his father to have fun, so as not to get trampled halfway … “he added.

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The nine-year-old’s grandmother blames rapper Travis Scott in particular for the events. “Why didn’t Travis Scott stop? Wasn’t he watching the ambulances and the people doing cardiopulmonary resuscitation? Doesn’t he care about the city of Houston? (…) This is the city he comes from. Why didn’t he take care of the people? “

Astroworld Festival in Houston: The victim’s family is looking for those responsible

Ezra’s grandfather Bernon Blount also told ABC13 that there was “very little security” at the concert. In his view, the police should have stopped the show after the first person was injured. He therefore wants to hold those responsible to account.

The family hired lawyer Ben Crump to do this. “The suffering this family is going through is immeasurable. This little boy had his whole life ahead of him – a life currently at stake due to the ruthless mismanagement that followed at the Astroworld Festival, “Crump said in a statement. “We ask everyone to send the most powerful prayers they can as this family struggles with the irreversible harm done to their son. We demand justice for Ezra Blount, his family and all of our clients who left Astroworld with trauma. ”Many other relatives and victims also want to sue Travis Scott and the organizers.

Astroworld tragedy in Houston: Numerous lawsuits after fatal festival disaster

Update, 9:30 p.m.: After the festival accident in Houston, Texas, with eight dead and many injured, US rapper Travis Scott and the organizers are facing a wave of lawsuits. Injured concert goers and the survivors of the victims have filed more than a dozen lawsuits, the broadcaster CNN reported.

The plaintiffs include a nine-year-old boy who is in hospital with serious injuries, reported the celebrity portal TMZ.com. According to a statement from civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, the boy was almost trampled to death. His aunt said in an interview with NBC that the event was a “death trap”. The boy sat on his father’s shoulders, but he passed out in the crowd and the child fell to the floor.

Eyewitnesses posted shocking videos of the chaos online. One clip shows a girl climbing onto a platform for cameramen for help and screaming in desperation that people are dying in front of the stage. Scott and the organizers are accused of, among other things, that there were insufficient security measures and that the concert was canceled too late.

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Astroworld Festival Houston: Witnesses report the mass panic

Update, 11.11 a.m.: Visitors to the Astroworld Festival in Houston speak up after the tragedy. Madeline Eskins reported in a TV interview with CNN that it was getting busier in the three hours before Travis Scott’s appearance. She too would have wanted to get hold of a “good place” for the performance of the rapper and simultaneous organizer of the festival and went to the masses.

“But then he started a timer 30 minutes before his performance, which could be seen on a large monitor, and the people who were already pressed together began to push forwards and backwards.” The closer the timer got to zero, the worse it got.

She could hardly breathe from the pressure on her chest. In the dense crowd, it was impossible to make room or leave the crowd. Eventually, Eskins kept passing out. She can’t remember any details, luckily she was lifted over the barrier.

Another visitor: inside are still drawing gloomy pictures. TK Tellez tells CNN: “When Travis played his first song, people on my left and right passed out.” He also had difficulty breathing. “We all called for help, but no one helped or heard us. It was horrific. (…) It was the worst thing I have ever heard. Imagine hearing Travis Scott perform and people screaming for their lives at the same time. “

Selena Beltran fell to the ground in the crowd: “I thought this is how I will die now.” Although some were clearly passed out, people continued to trample on those who were on the ground, she told CNN. “I was shocked to see people act so ruthlessly and animalistically,” continued Beltran.

Astroworld Festival: Rap star Drake comments on the tragedy in Houston

Update from November 9th, 2021, 8:05 a.m.: After the death of eight people at the Astroworld Festival in Houston, the Canadian rap star Drake expressed his condolences to the bereaved. “My heart is broken for the families and friends of those who have lost their lives and for everyone who is suffering,” said a post on the 35-year-old’s Instagram profile. “I will continue to pray for them all, and to help them in any way I can,” wrote Drake.

Astroworld panic: Travis Scott ignored warning – rapper threatens millionaire lawsuit

Update, 7:05 p.m.: After the mass panic with eight dead at a US music festival in Houston, the rappers Travis Scott and Drake were sued for “inciting” to chaos. According to the British tabloid Daily Mail, which received the complaint, plaintiff Kristian Paredes is demanding more than one million dollars.

“When Travis Scott’s performance began shortly after 9:00 pm (…) Kristian Paredes immediately felt a crowd,” says the complaint published in parts by the Daily Mail. “The crowd turned chaotic and panic broke out, killing eight people and seriously injuring dozens more, including Kristian Paredes. Many asked security guards employed by Live Nation Entertainment for help, but were ignored. “

The law firm Thomas J. Henry Law wrote on Twitter that it now represents “several victims”. Well-known attorney Ben Crump also said he had filed a lawsuit. “We hear terrible reports of the horror and helplessness that people experienced.”

Update, 3:55 p.m.: Visitors to the Astroworld Festival in Houston are now going to court against Travis Scott. During the performance of the US rapper at the music festival, eight people died as a result of a mass panic. Manuel Souza, visitor to the Astroworld festival, is now suing Scott for damages of one million US dollars. The deaths were “avoidable”, according to the US portal Huffington Post in the complaint.

In another lawsuit, rappers Travis Scott and his colleague Drake are accused of provoking “riots and acts of violence” at the Astroworld festival. The organizers, on the other hand, did not take the necessary steps to prevent a deadly tragedy.

Eight dead in Astroworld tragedy – Travis Scott ignored police warnings

Update from November 8th, 2021, 9:20 a.m.: The tragedy at the Astroworld Festival has an aftermath. Eight people died in a mass panic at the Houston Music Festival while Travis Scott appeared. The US rapper was not only the main act at the music festival, but also one of the co-organizers. According to the New York Times, Scott was warned of a possible mass panic by the Houston police chief Troy Finner before his appearance.

This is reported by the US newspaper, citing an unnamed person who was present at the police chief’s conversation with Travis Scott. Finner is said to have visited Scott in his trailer before his performance and expressed serious concerns that the audience could not be controlled due to the onslaught before the concert. Thousands of people had already stormed the entrance controls to the Astroworld Festival in the afternoon.

Astroworld Festival: Houston rapper Travis Scott noticed the ambulance but did nothing

Travis Scott had been noticed in the past for encouraging his fans to storm security checkpoints and illegally gain entry to his concerts. During his appearances, the rapper prides himself on making his fans “to rage”.

Samuel Peña, Houston City Fire Department chief, clearly criticized the rapper’s behavior. Travis Scott and the organizers not only had “the platform” but also “the responsibility” to stop the disaster. According to the police, the organizers continued the concert for at least 40 minutes after a “mass accident” was reported. Several spectators tried unsuccessfully to convince the organizers to interrupt the concert. Travis Scott even noticed an ambulance got stuck in the audience. But instead of asking his fans to clear the way for the emergency services, the rapper announced the next song and said: “I want you to shake the ground!”

Houston: Eight dead at Astroworld Festival – allegations against organization and audience

First report from November 7th, 2021: Houston – The music festival “Astroworld” in Houston (USA) ended in tragedy. Eight people were killed and more than two dozen had to be taken to hospitals, some with serious injuries. According to the dpa news agency, the eight dead include two young people aged 14 and 16. The other victims were between 21 and 27 years old.

The mayor of Houston, Sylvester Turner, announced on Saturday afternoon (local time). There are also still many unanswered questions, especially with regard to the organizers, said Turner. In the coming days they will investigate in detail “why this catastrophe happened and what steps must be taken to prevent such an event in the future.”

Astroworld Festival in Houston: Travis Scott expresses himself after mass panic

The accident at the Astroworld Festival occurred during an appearance by the rapper Travis Scott. About 50,000 people flocked to the festival site to watch the Houston-born rapper. There was a crowd in front of the stage during his performance, then panic broke out when people passed out. More than 300 people had to be treated in a field hospital on the festival site. Scott commented on Saturday morning (local time) via Twitter. “I’m completely devastated by what happened last night,” wrote the 29-year-old.

The video footage clearly shows how hundreds of people stormed the festival site in Houston before the concert began. Fences were pulled down, a VIP entrance completely dismantled. The sparsely represented security staff and the few police officers present were completely overwhelmed. Presumably, hundreds if not thousands more people came to the site than expected. According to the organizers, the Astroworld Festival was sold out with an audience of around 50,000 people. Originally the concert should have run for two days and other artists such as Earth, Wind & Fire, SZA and Bad Bunny performed.

Tragedy at the Astroworld Festival in Houston: Eight people die

In the USA, however, there are now clear allegations against the organizers who did not cancel the concert despite the situation in the entrance areas. A concert-goer told the US portal Huffington Post that the mood had been tense even before Travis Scott appeared. “When he jumped on stage, everyone went crazy. Everything went haywire, ”Niaara Goods told the Huffington Post. Other eyewitnesses report similar things. “There was a lot of jumping in the front. If you didn’t jump, you fell and got trampled, ”said Angel Colon from Orlando (Florida) to the local news channel KHOU 11.

But not only the organizer is in the focus of criticism after the events. Audience behavior is also a source of concern. Video footage on Twitter and elsewhere clearly shows that ambulances are not let through by the partying crowd. Police officers rushing in in small vehicles to calm the situation were also blocked. Some fans even climbed the roofs of the vehicles and continued celebrating instead of clearing the way for the emergency services.

Astroworld Festival in Houston: not the first mass panic resulting in death

According to CNN, the two-day Astroworld Festival in Houston was organized by Travis Scott himself. Houston is the hometown of the 29-year-old rapper. He was born there in 1992 as Jacques Webster Jr.

The Houston tragedy is reminiscent of other disasters that occurred at major music festivals in the past. These include the Love Parade in Duisburg, where 21 people died in a mass panic in 2010. In the summer of 2000, nine people died at a concert by the US band Pearl Jam at the Roskilde Festival in Denmark. In 1999, more than 50 people were killed at a concert in Minsk as a result of a mass panic. (Daniel Dillmann / Anna Charlotte Groos with dpa)

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