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On November 5, Treston Blount and his 9-year-old son, Ezra, traveled out to NRG Park with the hopes of having a bit of father-son bonding at the 2021 Astroworld Festival. Unfortunately, their opportunity to bond turned into something quite horrific.
As Ezra's "favorite artist," Travis Scott, performed, Treston hoisted his son onto his shoulders so he could have a better view. However, the crowd surge became too much and Treston passed out. Subsequently, Ezra fell to the ground and was trampled.
"When my son went to the concert, he had my grandson on his shoulder," Ezra's grandfather, Bernon Blount, told CNN.
"All the people pushed in and he could not breathe so he ended up passing out because of all the pressure that was being applied to his body. And when he passed out, Ezra fell off his shoulder and fell into the crowd."
When Treston regained consciousness, he did not see his son and immediately went searching for him.
"They did not know anything about [Ezra], his name or anything because he got separated from [Treston]," Bernon Blount explained to CNN.
"Instead of being seen or getting himself checked out, he went and tried to find Ezra and ended up finding him at the Texas Children's Hospital."
After arriving at Texas Children's Hospital, Treston was devastated to learn about what had happened to his son. Ezra had suffered "damage to the liver, his lungs" and his brain.
"He has damage to the liver, his lungs ... and on top of that, he has swelling on his brain," Bernon Blount continued, according to CNN.
"[The family is] devastated because this was supposed to be a father-son outing for them to bond and it has turned into something horrible and tragic."
As Treston Blount and his father, Bernon Blount, are hoping for Ezra's full recovery, they are also pushing for the festival organizers to be held accountable for what took place. Travis Scott, Drake, Live Nation and several entities have already been met with lawsuits regarding the eight deaths and
"There needs to be accountability, not just from the artist or the event planners, but also from the city of Houston," Ezra's grandfather, Bernon, demanded.
Moving forward, the Blounts will weigh their legal options. The family has retained attorneys Ben Crump, Alex Hilliard and Bob Hilliard.
"The suffering that this family is going through is immeasurable. This little boy had his whole life ahead of him -- a life that is currently hanging in the balance because of the reckless mismanagement that ensued at the Astroworld Festival," attorney Ben Crump said in a statement obtained by CNN.
Reading about Black trauma can have an impact on your mental health. If you or someone you know need immediate mental health help, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor. These additional resources are also available:
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-8255
The National Alliance on Mental Illness 1-800-950-6264
The Association of Black Psychologists 1-301-449-3082
The Anxiety and Depression Association of America 1-240-485-1001
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