Astroworld victim Ezra Blount, 9, is on life support, father says
Treston Blount had his son on his shoulders when he passed out and lost consciousness
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The father of the nine-year-old boy who remains hospitalized after the reported crowd surge at Travis Scott's Astroworld Festival is speaking out about his condition.
Treston Blount attended Astroworld with his son, Ezra Blount, who is a big fan of the rapper and Fortnite. The father, speaking to ABC13 in Houston on Friday, confirmed Ezra is currently on life support.
Describing the moments that led to the surge, Treston said his son was "stoked" and "ready to go" see Scott, 30.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The father likened Astroworld to a horror movie.
ASTROWORLD: A LOOK AT WHAT HAPPENED AT THE TRAVIS SCOTT PERFORMANCE
The crowd watches as Travis Scott performs at Astroworld Festival at NRG park on Friday, Nov. 5, 2021 in Houston. (Jamaal Ellis/Houston Chronicle via AP)
Treston explained him and his son were in the back of the crowd at the start of the concert because he understood "the front can get a little wild."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Treston held his son on his shoulders during the countdown to Scott's onstage arrival. "Everything was cool for a split second. I'm yelling out, ‘I can’t breathe.' There's other people around me saying ‘I can’t breathe.' It was definitely a moment where I didn't know what else to do."
The father ultimately collapsed and Ezra fell to the ground and was trampled. The boy was later brought to safety from a good Samaritan, according to the report. When Treston regained consciousness, he rushed to a medic tent. After filing a police report, authorities supplied Treston with a photo of his son.
"I could tell that he was damaged," Treston said. "I'm not ready to lose my boy at all. We still got a bunch of living to do...That's my boy."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Ezra remains in the hospital. His organs are said to be damaged and he's suffering from brain swelling.
ASTROWORLD: A LOOK BACK AT DEADLY CONCERTS
A visitor writes a note at a memorial outside of the canceled Astroworld festival at NRG Park on Nov. 7, 2021 in Houston. (Alex Bierens de Haan/Getty Images)
The boy's family has since filed a lawsuit claiming "grossly negligent conduct" against Scott and festival organizers.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"The lawsuit alleges negligence in a great number of aspects, including crowd control, failure to provide proper medical attention, hiring, training, supervision, and retention. The lawsuit names Scoremore Mgmt, Live Nation Entertainment, Travis Scott, Cactus Jack Records, and others as defendants. The lawsuit filing will allow independent experts commissioned by the legal team to access the roped-off crime scene at the festival," a press release obtained by Fox News states.
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On Thursday, Scott's attorney spoke out in defense of the rapper amid criticism for not stopping his Astroworld Festival performance as the crowd became dangerous.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Many from the public to elected officials have noted that they believe it was Scott’s responsibility to stop the show and control the crowd in order to give first responders the space and resources they needed to help people after a crowd surge made the situation at the popular Houston concert dangerous.
Scott, meanwhile, has maintained that he was unaware from his vantage point on the stage how dire the situation had become in the crowd. He claims he wasn't made aware of the deaths until well after the show ended. In a statement provided to Fox News, his attorney, Edwin F. McPherson of McPherson LLP, reiterated those claims and called out the Houston Police Department for shifting the blame onto Scott.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Travis Scott performs onstage during the third annual Astroworld Festival at NRG Park on Nov. 5, 2021 in Houston. (Photo by Rick Kern/Getty Images)
"There has been multiple finger-pointing, much of which has been by city officials, who have sent inconsistent messages and have backtracked from original statements," McPherson wrote. "Houston Police Chief Troy Finner was quoted in the New York Times as saying, 'You cannot just close when you got 50,000 and over 50,000 individuals. We have to worry about rioting, riots, when you have a group that’s that young.' Yet, just a short time later, Chief Finner states the responsibility to stop the show falls on Travis."
Also on Thursday, Scott's reps released a statement saying he is still "actively exploring routes of communication" with families affected by the tragedy.
"Over the last week, Travis Scott and his team have been actively exploring routes of connection with each and every family affected by the tragedy through the appropriate liaisons," the statement continued. "He is distraught by the situation and desperately wishes to share his condolences and provide aid to them as soon as possible, but wants to remain respectful of each family’s wishes on how they’d best like to be connected."
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"To those families who would like to reach out directly to his team, please send an email to the below address where we will have a team on hand to assist," the statement continued before adding the address, AW21information@gmail.com.
Fox News' Tyler McCarthy contributed to this report.