Many of the over 300 injured in the crowd surge at Travis Scott's Astroworld Festival are just beginning their road to recovery.
One little boy who was in attendance on the evening of November 5 is fighting his way to that road. Ezra Blount is a 9-year-old who was at the concert with his father, Treston. He was sitting on his dad's shoulders when the crowd surge that turned fatal began.
Treston did his best to keep his son safe, but he wasn't prepared for how intense the crowd would become in those moments. He was eventually overcome from the pressure around him and passed out.
When that happened, Ezra fell to the ground and was trampled by the crowd. In the aftermath of the mayhem, first responders worked quickly to transport the affected to area hospitals. During that time, Treston and Ezra were separated.
Ezra was taken to the hospital as a John Doe. Meanwhile, his family frantically made calls to locate the little boy. When they learned he was at Texas Children's Hospital, they found out that Ezra had suffered major organ damage and was in a medically induced coma.
Doctors believe that Ezra went into cardiac arrest, which caused swelling in his brain that they are trying to combat.
"Me and the family, we're struggling with this," Ezra's grandfather, Bernon Blount, told the Houston Chronicle.
"We're struggling with seeing the injuries to our grandchild and what he had to go through to receive those injuries. We're hurt and disappointed that the city would allow an event to go on like this and for people to be deceased. We just want to know who's responsible."
A GoFundMe has been set up by the family for Ezra's medical expenses.
"We want people to send us prayers, and we want people to be aware that there were a lot of people and babies who are injured," grandmother Tericia Blount added.
"(We want) people to be more protected and for this not to ever happen again — not to anyone."
"I guess my biggest thing is, how could this happen in the city of Houston? You know, when we go to concerts and different events, we expect safety and security," Bernon told ABC 13 Houston.
"And all the videos I've seen, I didn't see any security. I saw very little security.
"I just think there should be some accountability, cause for my grandson to end up the way he did, something terrible happened. He's a small, innocent child, he didn't deserve that. He didn't deserve it at all."
"He's just coming into town to see one of his favorite artists, and to be trampled like that, and really left in the hospital with no one knowing where he was, that's heartbreaking," he continued.
"As the citizens of Houston, we don't deserve it, and my grandson certainly didn't deserve it."
