Harris County, Texas authorities identified the eight victims who died after the fans at the Astroworld music festival in Houston suddenly pushed forward when rapper Travis Scott came on stage. The victims were identified the same day Scott announced he will cover all funeral costs and offer aid to those affected by the Astroworld tragedy. In a statement, he also said he is also working with law enforcement and city officials to “respectfully and appropriately connect” with victims and their families.
Those killed range from 14-27 years old. County officials did not release the cause and manner in which the victims died. The Astroworld victims have been identified as:
21-year-old Franco Patino
20-year-old Jacob “Jake” Jurinek
14-year-old John Hilgert
23-year-old Madison Dubiski
27-year-old Mirza “Danish” Baig
16-year-old Brianna Rodriguez
21-year-old Axel Acosta Avila
23-year-old Rodolfo “Rudy” Pena
As of Sunday, 13 additional Astroworld victims, who have not been identified, remained in the hospital. County officials did not have updated information on those who were hospitalized Monday.
Lawsuits and threats of legal action on behalf of those injured and killed continued to mount Monday. More than a half dozen lawsuits from victims and their families have already been filed against several defendants. They include Scott himself, as well as concert promoters Live Nation Entertainment Inc. and ScoreMore.
At a Monday news conference, Houston-based attorney Anthony Buzbee said his firm planned to sue on behalf of Acosta and dozens of other victims. He said his firm was already representing 35 prospective plaintiffs, “and that number is growing; our phone is ringing off the hook.”
“This concert was planned extremely poorly,” Buzbee said, describing the tragedy as “pure and utter chaos”. He said the lawsuits would seek to improve “the way concerts are put on, organized, promoted and managed in the United States and around the world.”
The Houston Police Department is leading the criminal investigation into the tragedy. In a Monday afternoon statement, Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said he met with Scott prior to his performance.
“I expressed my concerns regarding public safety,” Finner said in the statement, which was tweeted out by the department. “I asked Travis Scott and his team to work with HPD for all events over the weekend and to be mindful of his team’s social media messaging on any unscheduled events.”
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