The death toll now stands at nine after a 22-year-old college student who was critically injured in the crush of fans at the Astroworld festival died in hospital. Video / news.com.au
A teen who loved dancing. An AT&T district manager. An aspiring Border Patrol agent. And an engineering student working on a medical device to help his ailing mother.
Clearer pictures began to emerge Sunday of some of the eight people who died after fans at the Astroworld music festival inHouston suddenly surged toward the stage during a performance by rapper Travis Scott.
Authorities said Sunday they wouldn't release the names of the dead, but family members and friends shared accounts of their loved ones with journalists and through social media. Mary Barton, a spokeswoman in Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner's office, said identities were expected to be made public on Monday.
Two people who knew an unidentified victim of a fatal incident at the Houston Astroworld concert embrace at a memorial. Photo / AP
The dead ranged from 14 to 27 years old, according to Houston officials. As of Sunday, 13 people remained hospitalised.
City officials said they were in the early stages of investigating what caused the pandemonium at the sold-out event founded by Scott. About 50,000 people were there.
Experts who have studied deaths caused by crowd surges say they are often a result of density — too many people packed into a small space. The crowd is often either running away from a perceived threat or toward something, such as a performer, before hitting a barrier.
'Loved his Mom'
Franco Patino, 21, was working toward a mechanical engineering technology degree at the University of Dayton, with a minor in human movement biomechanics, his father, Julio Patino, said in an interview. He was a member of Alpha Psi Lambda, a Hispanic interest fraternity, and the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, and was working in an engineering co-op program.
Patino described his son as a charismatic, energetic leader who was active in his community and intent on helping people with disabilities.
Stacey Sarmiento places flowers at a memorial in Houston on Sunday, Nov. 7, 2021 in memory of her friend, Rudy Pena, who died in a crush of people at the Astroworld music festival. Photo / AP
He said his son was working with a team on a new medical device, and that he wanted to find a way to help his mother walk again after she was severely injured in an automobile accident in Mexico two years ago.
Through tears, Patino described how his son — who enjoyed weight lifting, football and rugby — used his strength to break a door and free his mom from the wreckage.
"He loved his mom," Patino said. "He said everything that he was doing, it was trying to help his mom. The entire goal."
Julio Patino, of Naperville, Illinois, was in London on business when the phone rang around 3 a.m. He answered it and heard his wife, Teresita, crying. She said someone had called from a hospital about their 21-year-old son, Franco, and that a doctor would be calling her soon. About 30 minutes, she called back with the doctor on the line.
"The doctor was giving us the news that our son had passed away," Patino said.
Patino said he had last spoken with his son about 2pm Friday. Franco told his dad that there weren't a lot a people at the festival site yet.
"Don't worry, I'm fine," Patino recalled his son saying. "I just said, 'Ok, just be careful.'"
'Hard-working man'
Danish Baig, who identified himself on Facebook as a district manager for AT&T, and appeared to be a devoted Dallas Cowboys fan, was among those who died at the concert, his brother Basil Baig said on Facebook.
"He was (an) innocent young soul who would always put others before him. He was a hard-working man who loved his family and took care of us. He was there in a heartbeat for anything. He always had a solution to everything," Basil Baig told ABC News.
A funeral for Danish Baig is expected to be held on Sunday in Colleyville in the Dallas-Forth Worth area, his brother said. Messages left with Basil Baig were not returned.
Loved to dance
Brianna Rodriguez's family told People magazine that she was among those who perished at the concert. She was 16, a student at Heights High School and loved dancing, according to the family the magazine spoke with. A message left with the family was not immediately answered.
Aspiring border agent
Rudy Pena, of Laredo, Texas, was a student at Laredo College and wanted to be Border Patrol agent, his friend Stacey Sarmiento said. She described him as a people person.
"Rudy was a close friend of mine," she said. "We met in high school. He was an athlete… He brought happiness anywhere he went. He was easy to get along with. It was like positive vibes from him at all times.
"We all came to have a good time … it was just horrible in there."
Associated Press writers Jamie Stengle and Juan Lozano in Houston contributed to this report. Chase reported from Dover, Delaware. Catalini reported from Trenton, New Jersey.
