Dallas Boy, 9, Is Youngest of 10 Killed at Houston Festival

A promising college student expected to graduate in the spring. A visitor from Washington State. And a nine-year-old boy who had been in a coma for more than a week.

The death toll stemming from a crowd surge during the Astroworld festival in Houston rose to 10 on Sunday. The latest victim is also the youngest, nine-year-old Ezra Blount, of Dallas, who had been in a medically induced coma since Nov. 5.

The dead ranged from nine to 27 years old. Hundreds more were injured.

City officials are investigating what caused the pandemonium at the sold-out event attended by about 50,000 fans.

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.”

Treston Blount, Ezra’s father, said Ezra was sitting on his shoulders when a crowd surge crushed them. The father lost consciousness and when he came to, Ezra was missing, Blount said. A frantic search ensued until Ezra was eventually found at the hospital, severely injured.

The child 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 the event’s organizer, Live Nation. The Blount family is seeking at least $one million in damages.

The other victims are Bharti Shahani, 22; Franco Patino, 21; Jacob “Jake” Jurinek, 20;  ninth-grader John Hilgert, 14; Madison Dubiski, 23; Mirza “Danish” Baig, 27; Brianna Rodriguez, 16; Axel Acosta Avila, 21; and Rodolfo “Rudy” Pena, 23.