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Astroworld latest – Boy, 9, fights for life after falling from dad’s shoulders & being trampled during Travis Scott gig
A NINE-year-old boy is fighting for his life in a children's hospital after falling from his dad's shoulders and being trampled during the deadly crowd disaster at rapper Travis Scott's Astroworld concert, The Sun has learned.
Little Ezra Blount fell after his dad passed out from the pressure of the crowd during a surge at the 50,000-strong gig in Houston, Texas, on Friday night.
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The boy fell to the ground and was trampled by panicked fans during the chaos, his worried family has said.
"He’s still in a critical condition in an induced coma, we are praying and waiting," said Ezra's aunt Taylor Gabrielle Blount. She added he's suffering from increasingly worsening brain swelling and his organs are also damaged.
In an exclusive interview with The Sun, Taylor said she hasn't seen her nephew as only his parents are allowed at the moment - but doctors "hope the swelling goes down so he can start to live."
“We were told he wasn’t expected to live, but it’s been three days so we’re praying he pulls through. He’s a fighter," she added,
Taylor recounted the horror her brother Treston went through after waking up only to find his son had vanished while he was unconscious.
“My brother passed out in the crowd after the crowd began to push them," Taylor recounted.
"He had Ezra on his shoulders. When my brother woke up, he couldn't find him."
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Authorities rushed him to the hospital without a name because little Ezra was found without his father, making the harrowing experience all the more difficult.
"At first he was checked into the hospital as a John Doe, so we had to find him," Taylor said.
"I'm guessing because the paramedics had already taken him away. We think he fell into the crowd and was trampled."
Read our Travis Scott Astroworld Festival live blog for the very latest news and updates...
"My brother is so worried about Ezra, but he’s ok himself. His mother Tamra is in a very fragile state right now, she can’t speak yet."
FATHER AND SON FANS OF SCOTT
Taylor recalled how her nephew came to be a fan of Scott, which is why he and his father attended the concert.
"Ezra is phenomenal, he’s a fan of Fornite [the video game] which is how he was introduced to Travis Scott, and his father Treston is a fan, they loved him."
"They went together, it was meant to be a learning experience to introduce him to live music, but it turned into something else."
“Ezra loves to sing, both him and his father love performing," Taylor said.
“It's really disappointing. Travis being from Houston, he has a key to the city and something like this went on.
";They needed to take more precautions, there needed to be more security, more exits, a lot of people struggled to get out.
"It should have been stopped after the first death."
SCOTT "HASN'T LEARNED HIS LESSON"
When asked about Scott encouraging the crowd to be wild, Taylor referenced previous occasions where similar events occurred and even brought two separate charges against the musician.
";You would have hoped he’d have learned his lesson, but it seems he hasn’t," Taylor told The Sun.
“Ezra is about to turn 10 on December 13," she added. "He’s a very funny, outgoing little boy. He can talk to anybody, he’s an innocent child, it’s shocking this has happened to him.”
Ezra was one of 50,000 people crammed into pens at Astroworld over the weekend, where the death toll following Scott's concert remains at eight, with hundreds more injured.
Ezra's grandfather Bernon Blount also told of his shock at an apparent lack of safety preparedness before the concert.
"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. I saw very little security," he told , later adding that police or "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's a small, innocent child, he didn't deserve that. He didn't deserve it at all," Ezra's grandfather said.
"He's just coming into town to see one of his favorite artists, and to be trampled like that, and really left in the hospital with no one knowing where he was, that's heartbreaking," he continued.
"As the citizens of Houston, we don't deserve it, and my grandson certainly didn't deserve it."
FAMILY ATTORNEY
The family have retained lawyer Ben Crump to represent them.
Crump told The Sun on Monday: "The suffering that this family is going through is immeasurable.
"This little boy had his whole life ahead of him – a life that is currently hanging in the balance because of the reckless mismanagement that ensued at the Astroworld Festival.
"We ask everyone to send up the most powerful prayers they can as this family tries to grapple with the undoable damage that has been done to their son."
WHAT HAPPENED AT ASTROWORLD
Astroworld is the 30-year-old musician's own festival in Houston.
On Friday, the first day of the third annual show, the crowd surged towards the stage while Scott was performing, resulting in a large panic.
"At approximately 9:15pm, the crowd began to compress towards the front of the stage and that caused some panic and it started causing some injuries," Houston Fire Chief Samuel Pena relayed to reporters after the event.
"People began to fallout, become unconscious, and it created additional panic."
Despite Astroworld's organizers sending their thoughts and prayers to those who died or were injured, Scott defended his actions.
"My fans really mean the world to me and I always wanna leave them with a positive experience and anytime I can make out anything that’s going on, I stop the show and help them get the help they need, you know?" he said.
He added that he “could never image the severity of the situation.”
"I’m gonna do everything I can to keep you guys updated and keep you guys informed on what’s going on."
Video from the event shows the rapper performing even after people were in the crowd shouting to stop.
Scott offered to pay for the funeral cost of eight victims, and has partnered with , an online therapy service, to give one month free of mental health services to the attendees.
The musician is currently facing multiple lawsuits alongside fellow rapper Drake.
"There is no excuse for the events that unfolded at NRG stadium on Friday night," Texas attorney Thomas J. Henry, who represents concert goer Kristian Paredes, said in a news release.
"There is every indication that the performers, organizers, and venue were not only aware of the hectic crowd but also that injuries and potential deaths may have occurred."
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"Still, they decided to put profits over their attendees and allowed the deadly show to go on."
Earlier in the day on Friday, a stampede had occurred at the Astroworld gates at around 2pm when fans were rushing to get through security.
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