Ezra Blount, a nine-year-old boy who went to Astroworld with his dad, has been left in a coma after being “kicked, stepped on, and trampled, and nearly crushed to death,” according to a lawsuit.
As previously reported by Monsters & Critics, the Astroworld music festival left eight people dead after a crowd surge.
Over 50,000 people were in attendance when crowd members were pushed toward the stage where rapper Travis Scott was performing, which led to hundreds of people being injured.
Footage surfaced of unconscious people being lifted above the crowd as many screamed for help.
Ezra Blount is one of the survivors, but the boy is in critical condition and was put into a medically induced coma after being rushed to a children’s hospital in Houston.
According to a Rolling Stone article, Ezra was being carried on his father’s shoulders when they became trapped during the crowd surge.
“He kept screaming, ‘I can’t breathe.’ But everyone was pushing. It was so tight with no exits. His dad couldn’t breathe at all and passed out. We don’t really know what happened to Ezra after that,” his grandmother told the publication.
It is unclear how Ezra got to the hospital, but he was reportedly listed as a ‘John Doe’ — a name given to unidentified victims — until his father found him.
Ezra’s family member criticizes Travis Scott
The nine-year-old boy’s grandmother, a nurse, also pointed the finger at Travis Scott and criticized the rapper for continuing to perform while people were reportedly receiving medical attention in the crowd.
“Why didn’t Travis Scott stop? Wasn’t he watching the ambulances and people performing CPR? Doesn’t he care about the city of Houston? The mayor gave him the key. This is the city he’s from. Why wasn’t he looking out for the people?”
Ezra’s grandmother claimed Erza suffered from a heart attack and damaged several organs in his body due to being trampled.
Travis Scott sued by Ezra’s family
The boy’s family has now retained attorney Ben Crump, who represented George Floyd, in a negligence lawsuit against concert promoter Live Nation, Travis Scott, and others.
The family is reportedly seeking at least $1 million in damages.
While many blamed Scott for continuing the concert, others pointed the finger at the security or lack thereof.
Ezra’s grandfather told ABC13 that there wasn’t sufficient security and criticized the police for not stepping in to stop the show after individuals were injured.
It is unclear what the rapper could see from his vantage point while performing to a crowd of over 50,000 people.
However, there is footage of the Sicko mode rapper stopping the show and telling security to check on injured ones.
A GoFundMe has been launched to help cover Ezra’s medical bills.