Astroworld's 10th victim: 9-year-old boy in coma from injuries dies
Ezra Blount, the 9-year-old boy who was placed in a medically induced coma after being injured at Travis Scott's Astroworld Festival in Houston, died Sunday, Houston's Mayor Sylvester Turner confirmed in a tweet. He is the 10th person to die from injuries related to the Nov. 5 concert.
Ezra was the youngest person to die in connection to the music festival, where a large crowd surge pushed toward the stage as Scott performed, packing people so tightly together they couldn’t breathe.
"I am saddened to learn of Ezra’s death this evening," Turner wrote. "Our city tonight prays for his mom, dad, grandparents, other family members and classmates at this time. They will need all of our support in the months and years to come. May God give them strength."
Ezra's heart, lungs and brain were injured in the melee. He was taken to a Houston hospital and placed in an induced coma, his grandfather, Bernon Blount, said. Ezra and his father, Treston Blount, traveled from out of town to attend the concert and spend quality time together, Bernon Blount said last week.
"They were expecting to come and have a good time with each other, bond as father and son, and it turned into a tragic event because of the negligence of others," Bernon Blount told the Associated Press.
Treston Blount told ABC 13 last week that his son was a big Travis Scott fan.
"He was so stoked. He was ready to go," he said.
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A GoFundMe fundraiser started by Treston Blount says the family is "certain that he was trampled" at the concert.
"I began to be crushed until I couldn’t breathe," Treston Blount wrote on the donation site. "And I woke up and my son was gone."
Ezra's grandmother, Tericia Blount, told the Houston Chronicle the 9-year-old was “a very bright star.” He loved skateboarding, had big dimples and had an ability to sing “like an angel,” she said.
“We want people to send us prayers, and we want people to be aware that there were a lot of people and babies who are injured,” she said. “(We want) people to be more protected and for this not to ever happen again — not to anyone.”
The Blount family hired a team of lawyers, including Ben Crump, to file a lawsuit on behalf of Treston Blount against Scoremore Mgmt, Live Nation Entertainment, Scott and others.
“The Blount family tonight is grieving the incomprehensible loss of their precious young son," Crump wrote in a statement Sunday. "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.”
The other nine victims ranged in age from 14 to 27. Roughly 55,000 people attended the concert.
Contributing: The Associated Press
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Astroworld deaths: 9-year-old boy dies after being placed in coma
