“This should not have been the outcome of taking their son to a concert.”
A nine-year-old boy has become the tenth person to die as a result of a crowd surge at a Travis Scott concert in Houston, Texas earlier this month.
Ezra Blount died on Sunday of injuries sustained in the chaos at the Astroworld music festival on November 5.
He had been in a medically-induced coma since being trampled in the incident. His family claims he suffered severe damage to his brain, kidney, and liver as well as brain swelling.
“The Blount family tonight is grieving the incomprehensible loss of their precious young son,” family attorney Ben Crump said in a statement on Sunday night. “This should not have been the outcome of taking their son to a concert, what should have been a joyful celebration.”
ABC 13 Houston reports Ezra 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.
The boy was taken to hospital before his dad even came to, his grandfather, Bernon Blount, told the media outlet.
“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.
“…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.”
The Blount family have filed a lawsuit against Scott and the event’s organiser, Live Nation, seeking at least $1 million in damages.
Several minors are among the victims of the tragedy, with two of the other nine fatalities aged just 14 and 16.
22-year-old college student Bharti Shahani became the ninth person to die from the tragedy last week.
A criminal investigation is underway.
