Travis Scott’s offer to pay funeral expenses for Astroworld victim Ezra Blount, nine, is rejected by family … who say musical artist ‘bears some of the responsibility for this tragedy’
The family of the youngest of 10 people who died at the Astroworld festival earlier this month, nine-year-old Ezra Blount, has rejected an offer Travis Scott made to pay for the boy’s funeral.
‘Your client’s offer is declined,’ the family’s attorney Bob Hilliard told Scott’s lawyer Daniel Petrocelli in a letter obtained by Rolling Stone. ‘I have no doubt Mr. Scott feels remorse. His journey ahead will be painful.
‘He must face and hopefully see that he bears some of the responsibility for this tragedy.’
The latest: The family of nine-year-old Ezra Blount, the youngest of 10 people who died at the Astroworld festival earlier this month, has rejected an offer Travis Scott, 30, made to pay for the boy’s funeral
Ezra Blount, who was from Dallas, was among the 10 people who died as result of injures suffered amid a crowd surge at the November 5 festival at NRG Park in Houston.
He died of irreversible organ failure at Texas Children’s Hospital November 14 after being placed in a medically induced coma. Blount’s funeral took place in Texas on November 23.
Ezra’s grandparents previously told the publication that both Ezra Blount and his father Treston Blount were caught in the deadly crowd surge at the concert.
His grandmother Tericia Blount said, ‘Everyone was pushing. It was so tight with no exits. His dad couldn’t breathe at all and passed out. We don’t really know what happened to Ezra after that.’
Both Ezra Blount and his father Treston Blount were caught in the deadly crowd surge at the concert, the family said
Blount’s family is feeling ‘a faucet of unimaginable pain that has no off handle’ in the wake of the child’s tragic death, their lawyer said
Scott was seen onstage on the tragic evening, in which a crowd surge led to the deaths of 10 fans
Petrocelli wrote in a November 24 letter that Scott ‘would like to pay for the funeral expenses’ of Blount, and remains ‘devastated by the tragedy that occurred at the Astroworld Festival and grieves for the families whose loved ones died or were injured.
‘Travis is committed to doing his part to help the families who have suffered and begin the long process of healing in the Houston community.’
Petrocelli said that the offer would ‘have no effect’ on legal proceedings brought against Scott and other parties by Blount’s father Treston Blount.
Hilliard said in a response that for the immediate future, the rapper ‘must respect’ his ‘devastation’ over the tragedy is not comparable to what Blount’s family is feeling, likening it to ‘a faucet of unimaginable pain that has no off handle.’
Mourners left flowers and other mementoes to honor the victims outside of NRG park on November 7
A sign outside the venue November 6 indicated the festival had been canceled in the wake of the tragedy
Hilliard said that ‘to lose a child in the manner Treston lost Ezra compounds the pain.
‘As a parent, Treston cannot help but agonize over the terrible idea that Ezra’s last minutes were filled with terror, suffering, suffocation and worst of all surrounded by strangers, his dad unconscious underneath the uncontrolled crowd.’
Hilliard told the outlet Monday that Blount’s family had previously rejected overtures from Scott’s camp for an in-person meeting in the wake of the tragedy.
Hilliard said, ‘We were pretty firm. With all due respect, no. This isn’t a photo-op story here. This is a “who’s responsible and why” type of investigation. And he’s on the short list.’
The ages of the 10 people who died in the tragedy ranged from nine to 27; around 300 people were treated at the site and 13 were hospitalized in connection with the incident.
Almost 200 lawsuits have been filed against Scott, promoter Live Nation and other involved parties in the weeks following the festival, as investigators continue to probe the circumstances of the disaster.
Source: Read Full Article