Ezra Blount loved skateboarding, music and playing Fortnite. The latter is how he got into Travis Scott, though his family noted his natural ability for performance himself. In a touching video his father Treston Blount shared on a GoFundMe page for Ezra, the father and son are seen acting out a SpongeBob SquarePants meme and lip-syncing Metro Boomin’s “10 Freaky Girls” featuring 21 Savage.
The clip also features photos and clips from their time at Scott’s Astroworld concert. Treston took Ezra to see Scott’s set in Houston and had put Ezra on his shoulders — Ezra’s grandmother Tericia Blount previously told Rolling Stone — presumably so he could get a better view.
At some point, the crowd began to surge shortly after Scott took the stage. Treston “couldn’t breathe at all and passed out,” Tericia said. Ezra fell in the ensuing chaos that would result in at least nine deaths and hundreds of injuries.
His fate soon after was not known until the family later found him at a nearby hospital listed as a John Doe. As a result of being trampled, he had suffered injuries to his kidney, lung, liver — “basically every organ,” Tericia said — and went into cardiac arrest. He was put into a medically induced coma to treat brain swelling.
On Sunday, Ezra Blount died from his injuries at the age of nine, his family said in a statement issued by their attorney Ben Crump.
“The Blount family tonight is grieving the ultimate, incomprehensible loss of their precious young son,” the statement read. “This should not have been the outcome of taking their son to a concert, 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.
Earlier this month, Blount’s family hired lawyers Ben Crump and Bob Hilliard to file a lawsuit on behalf of Treston against Scoremore Mgmt, Live Nation Entertainment and Travis Scott, among others. The suit alleges negligence as it pertains to “crowd control, failure to provide proper medical attention, hiring, training, supervision, and retention,” Crump said in a statement. “Concerts and music festivals such as this are meant to be a safe place for people of all ages to enjoy music in a controlled environment,” he said. “None of that was true about the Astroworld Festival.”
“It is outrageous that it took as long as it did to stop the show, as many of these deaths and injuries likely could have been prevented or mitigated,” Hilliard added.
While Ezra was still in the hospital fighting for his life, his grandfather Bernon Blount told Rolling Stone there should be some accountability for the tragedy. “For him to have the injuries he has, I can’t help picturing in my mind what he had to go through to get those injuries,” he said. “Someone should be held responsible. He went there with his father to have a good time, not to be trampled halfway to… I don’t want to even say the word.”
From Rolling Stone US
