Astroworld news – live: Ezra Blount, 9, injured at concert dies as protesters surround Travis Scott’s mansion
Follow latest updates here
![Ezra Blount was on his father’s shoulders but fell into the crowd when his dad was crushed and passed out](https://static.independent.co.uk/2021/11/09/17/AC6871F3-E42B-42E8-A120-C3FE2FCA9770.jpeg)
Support truly
independent journalism
Our mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.
Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.
Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.
![Louise Thomas](https://static.independent.co.uk/static-assets/support-us/louise-thomas.png)
Louise Thomas
Editor
Ezra Blount, the nine-year-old who was on life support for days after he was injured during Travis Scott’s Astroworld music festival, has died.
His family’s lawyer said in a statement: “The Blount family tonight is grieving the incomprehensible loss of their precious young son. This should not have been the outcome of taking their son to a concert, what should have been a joyful celebration.”
He added: “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.”
The nine-year-old had sustained life-threatening injuries and was placed in a medically induced coma.
Ezra Blount’s family lawyers issue statement
Ben Crump and Bob Hilliard, the attorneys representing Ezra Blount’s family, issued a statement on Sunday.
“The Blount family tonight is grieving the incomprehensible loss of their precious young son. This should not have been the outcome of taking their son to a concert, what should have been 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,” they said.
Protesters surround Travis Scott’s mansion
In the wake of the tragedy that unfolded at the Astroworld Festival — the tenth victim being the nine-year-old Ezra Blount — protesters have surrounded Travis Scott’s mansion at Houston.
The Sun reported that the artist has ramped up security at his home.
Angry protesters held placards that said “Travis Scott lives here” and “You Destroyed Lives. You Deserve Bankruptcy.”
Meanwhile, the family of nine-year-old Ezra Blount who had been on life support confirmed that he died. Ben Crump and Bob Hilliard, the attorneys representing Ezra Blount’s family, issued a statement on Sunday that said that the “Blount family tonight is grieving the incomprehensible loss of their precious young son.”
More than 40,000 people sign petition asking to remove Travis Scott as Goldenvoice performer
A change.org petition demanding to remove Travis Scott as the Goldenvoice performer has gathered more than 40,000 signatures as the family of nine-year-old Ezra Blount confirmed his death.
The petition started by Sendero Secreto said: “With the recent tragic and unnecessary deaths at Travis Scott’s Astroworld concert, due to Scott’s own gross negligence and sheer lack of compassion for human life, we ask AEG, Paul Tollet, and Goldenvoice to remove his as a performer at all of their festivals.”
Scott is scheduled to headline the 2022 Coachella festival — to be held at Indio, California for the weekends of 15 - 17 April 2022 and 22 - 24 April 2022.
The rapper has come under heavy criticism after the deadly Astroworld Festival in which ten people were killed.
9-year-old injured at Travis Scott’s music festival dies, family says
The family of nine-year-old Ezra Blount, who was on life support after being injured during Travis Scott’s Astroworld music festival, confirmed his death on Sunday.
Read more here:
![](https://static.independent.co.uk/2021/11/10/20/TEXAS-FESTIVAL-DECESOS_60310.jpg?width=1200&auto=webp&quality=75)
9-year-old injured at Astroworld has died, family says
Ezra Blount was on life support for days after suffering brain swelling and organ damage
Everything we know about lawsuits facing Travis Scott and Live Nation
Rapper Travis Scott and the organisers of Astroworld are now being sued in hundreds of lawsuits brought by the families of victims and concertgoers injured at the fatal concert.
Multiple people died and hundreds more were injured after the crowd surged towards the stage on the first night of Travis Scott’s two-day festival in Houston, Texas.
At least 50,000 people attended the event and there have been reports that people hopped turnstiles and fences to get into the sold-out festival without tickets.
There have now been at least 140 lawsuits filed against the organisers, with 50 already initiated against Live Nation Entertainment Inc and Scott, who has said he is “devastated” by the tragedy.
Holly Bancroft and Graeme Massie have the details.
![](https://static.independent.co.uk/2021/11/08/08/PRI209109322.jpg?width=1200&auto=webp&quality=75)
Everything we know about lawsuits facing Travis Scott and Live Nation
Travis Scott and organisers of Texas event now facing hundreds of lawsuits from victims
Singer SZA stops concert in wake of Astroworld tragedy
SZA was performing in Salt Lake City at the Union Event Centre on Thursday when she noticed a concertgoer had fainted.
She stopped playing and urged water to be brought forward for the stricken individual. In a video captured by a TikTok user at the gig and later posted by TMZ she discussed safety at concerts, following the tragic events that unfolded last weekend in Houston.
“Yes I have played concerts where people have passed out before. If I have water in the back, if I have personal water, then just bring all the water to the front,’ she told the crowd.
She added that “people don’t die at concerts all the time” and said that “none of us should ever forget that”.
Attorneys representing 200 Astroworld survivors file 90 lawsuits against organisers
Attorneys representing more than 200 survivors and victims of last week’s Astroworld Festival tragedy are set to file a further 90 lawsuits against promoters for the crowd crush that killed nine people and injured dozens more.
Attorney Ben Crump, speaking at a news conference on Friday in Houston, Texas, said he and other attorneys were representing a group of “more than 200” who say they were victims of last week’s crush.
It brings the lawsuits filed against Astroworld organisers to 140, with 50 already initiated against Live Nation Entertainment Inc and Mr Scott, who denies wrongdoing and expressed that he was “devastated”.
![](https://static.independent.co.uk/2021/11/12/18/newFile-1.jpg?width=1200&auto=webp&quality=75)
Attorneys representing 200 Astroworld survivors file 90 lawsuits against organisers
It brings the total of claims against organisers to 140, reports suggest
Blount family seeking $1 million in damages
Ezra Blount, 9, incurred severe damage to his brain, kidney, and liver after being “kicked, stepped on, and trampled, and nearly crushed to death,” according to a lawsuit his family has filed against Scott and the event’s organizer, Live Nation. The Blount family is seeking at least $1 million in damages.
Ben Crump, an attorney representing the Blount family, said in a news release Sunday night that he was “committed to seeking answers and justice” on behalf of the family.
“The Blount family tonight is grieving the incomprehensible loss of their precious young son,” Crump said. “This should not have been the outcome of taking their son to a concert, what should have been a joyful celebration. Ezra’s death is absolutely heartbreaking.”
Astroworld and the responsibility of crowd safety
#ICYMI
The tragedy at a Houston festival reminded some concertgoers of previous situations where performers stepped in to help members of the audience, writes Lucy Anna Gray.
![](https://static.independent.co.uk/2021/11/09/23/AP_21310133122936.jpg?width=1200&auto=webp&quality=75)
Astroworld and the responsibility of crowd safety
The tragedy at a Houston festival reminded some concertgoers of previous situations where performers stepped in to help members of the audience, writes Lucy Anna Gray
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments