Astroworld Festival tragedy death toll rises to 10: 'This was a blood bath'

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Wednesday, November 17, 2021
All 8 victims identified in Astroworld Festival mass casualty
REST IN PEACE: At least 10 people have died as a result of the Astroworld Festival tragedy. Among the victims were a 9-year-old boy and a man who was crushed while trying to save his fiancée.

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- As an investigation continues into the Astroworld Festival tragedy, the death toll is now up to 10 people.



The latest death is 9-year-old Ezra Blount, who fell and was trampled during Travis Scott's performance.



The video above is from a previous story.



Last week, Ezra's father, Treston Blount, spoke exclusively with ABC13 and said his son is a young Travis Scott fan.



Treston held Ezra high on his shoulders as the countdown began to Scott's performance at NRG Park on Nov. 5. The pair stayed toward the back of the crowd because Treston said he thought it would be calmer. But as soon as Travis Scott took the stage, he said that's when people started pushing.



Treston lost consciousness and Ezra fell to the ground. At the mercy of concertgoers, the 9-year-old was trampled.



After days of being on life support, on Sunday, Ezra's family shared the 9-year-old had died.



Texas A&M senior Bharti Shahani was the ninth concertgoer to lose her life as a result of the chaos that ensued at the show.



SEE ALSO: Family in tears as they announce 9th Astroworld victim's death


Bharti Shahani's family broke down in tears as they went public with the news of their loved one's death days after the Astroworld Festival.


Shahani, 22, had been hospitalized as a result of the event. Up until her passing, the young woman's family said she had been on a ventilator. She showed no brain activity shortly after her hospitalization.



The attorney of Shahani's family announced on Thursday that she succumbed to her critical injuries just the evening before.



Madison Dubiski, 23, of Cypress, was the eighth victim pronounced dead according to a tweet but Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo.





ABC13 was at the scene Sunday where Dubiski's family and friends set up a memorial full of flowers for her outside of NRG Park.





John Hilgert, a ninth-grade student at Memorial High School, was the youngest who died during the incident, according to a letter from school administrators sent Saturday to parents.



"Our hearts go out to the student's family and to his friends and our staff at Memorial," MHS Principal Lisa Weir wrote. "This is a terrible loss, and the entire MHS family is grieving today."



WATCH: Friends pay tribute to victims of Astroworld Festival tragedy


As we learn more about the Astroworld Festival-goers who never made it home after the event, here's how family and friends are remembering their loved ones.


Counselors were available to students to offer support as they process the loss of their classmate, Weir said.



Green ribbons were found wrapped around the building on Saturday.



WATCH: Breakdown of how disaster began at Astroworld Festival


After 8 people were killed in the Astroworld Festival chaos, a question that is still unanswered is why did the concert continue? Our partners at the Houston Chronicle delved into a timeline of events and worked to uncover who knew what.


ABC13 also learned the name of a 16-year-old killed. A family member confirmed the 16-year-old was Brianna Rodriguez. Her aunt said she was a junior at Heights High School and had a passion for dancing.



A Heights High School parent-teacher organization expressed its condolences to Rodriguez's family. The school will have counselors available Monday for students and staff who may need support during this time.





A family member created a GoFundMe page to raise money for Rodriguez's funeral expenses.



Administrators at the University of Dayton in Ohio confirmed one of the 21-year-old victims was Franco Patiño. He was majoring in mechanical engineering technology.



WATCH: Best friends killed in Astroworld music festival


Naperville natives and best friends, Jacob "Jake" Jurinek and Franco Patiño, were both among at least eight killed during crowd surge at the Astroworld music festival.


A father identified an unknown victim as his 21-year-old son. Edgar Acosta confirmed to ABC13 that his son, Axel, was the unidentified victim that had been recovered from Memorial Hermann Hospital after the incident.



Acosta said his son traveled from Washington to see rapper Travis Scott take the stage at NRG Park.



The fifth victim was identified as 27-year-old Danish Baig. Baig was killed during the crowd rush while trying to save his fiancee, his brother, Basil Baig, told ABC News.



"He was [an] innocent young soul who would always put others before him. He was a hard-working man who loved his family and took care of us. He was there in a heartbeat for anything. He always had a solution to everything," Basil said of his brother.



Basil said his family plans to hire an attorney.



"Travis Scott and his team and everyone associated in the event should and will be held responsible. He [didn't] stop the show even with people chanting to stop the show. He allowed it. This was a blood bath and all of it is on his hands," Basil said.



Family identified Jacob ("Jake") E. Jurinek as one of the victims killed. According to a release from his family, Jurinek was a junior at Southern Illinois University, where he was pursuing his passion for art and media.



"We are all devastated and are left with a huge hole in our lives," said Jurinek's dad, Ron Jurinek. "Right now, we ask for the time and space for our family to process this tragic news and begin to heal. We're comforted by the fact that the hundreds of people Jake touched over the years will carry a piece of his spirit with them."



Loved ones also identified 23-year-old Rudy Peña among the victims. Peña's sister told ABC13 her brother was from Laredo, Texas. A GoFundMe has been created to help the family with funeral expenses.



Houston Fire Department and Harris County medics transported 25 people to hospitals. Seventeen of those patients were taken away during the worst of the ordeal, according to Houston Fire Department Chief Sam Peña, who also said CPR had to be performed on 11 of the victims. HFD had 55 units in-service for the festival, Peña said.



"This incident is being thoroughly investigated and reviewed," Turner said.



Travis Scott, the popular rapper and Astroworld Festival organizer, launched the event in 2018. His shows have typically drawn young crowds with its high-energy presentation that the artist has referred to as "raging," according to the New York Times.



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