“He’s a small, innocent child, he didn’t deserve that.”
A nine-year-old boy is in a medically-induced coma after being injured in a mass casualty event that took place at Travis Scott’s concert in Houston, Texas over the weekend.
Ezra Blount is fighting for his life at Texas Children’s Hospital following the crowd surge that killed at least eight people at Astroworld Festival on Friday.
ABC 13 Houston reports he had been sitting on his dad’s shoulders during the concert when the surge began.
His dad passed out in the pressure of the crowd, causing Ezra to fall to the ground and get trampled on in the chaos.
The boy was taken to hospital before his dad even came to, his grandfather, Bernon Blount, told ABC 13 Houston.
“He was listed as a John Doe because nobody knew his name and the father was still at the venue in the medical facilities,” Bernon said.
The family said all of Ezra’s organs are damaged, and he has brain swelling that got “progressively worse” on Monday.
They told the Houston Chronicle that doctors believe he went into cardiac arrest.
Several minors are among the victims of the tragedy, with two of the eight fatalities aged just 14 and 16.
Concertgoers and their families are demanding answers as to how the concert could go so wrong as to claim the lives of eight people and injure far more.
Ezra’s grandfather told ABC 13 Houston: “I guess my biggest thing is, how could this happen in the city of Houston? You know, when we go to concerts and different events, we expect safety and security. And all the videos I’ve seen, I didn’t see any security.
He added that he saw “very little security” and that “someone should have stopped it.”
“I just think there should be some accountability, cause for my grandson to end up the way he did, something terrible happened,” he continued.
“He’s a small, innocent child, he didn’t deserve that. He didn’t deserve it at all.
“He’s just coming into town to see one of his favourite artists, and to be trampled like that, and really left in the hospital with no one knowing where he was, that’s heartbreaking.”
In a statement, Travis Scott said he was “absolutely devastated” by the incident. His girlfriend Kylie Jenner, with whom he is expecting their second child, said the show “in no world” would have continued had they known of fatalities.
— TRAVIS SCOTT (@trvisXX) November 6, 2021
Variety also reported on Monday that the rapper announced he will pay for the funerals of those who died.
Some of those in attendance and their families have already begun filing lawsuits in relation to the incident. An investigation is ongoing.
