Victims in Friday’s mass casualty event at a Houston music concert are beginning to be identified, KTRK-TV reports.
At least eight people died and about 300 people were injured during a concert by rapper Travis Scott.
The event, which reportedly drew 50,000 people, turned deadly around 9:30 p.m. Friday when the crowd began rushing toward the stage. There are reports of people being trampled, as well as an investigation into whether some attendees were unwittingly injected with drugs.
Medics transported 25 people to the hospital, 11 of whom were in cardiac arrest, according to authorities.
Since the chaos of Friday night, loved ones of the victims have begun to share the identities of those who died. Two of the victims were local high school students. Brianna Rodriguez, 16, (pictured top-left) was a junior at Heights High School, according to KTRK-TV.
“It is with profound sadness we lay to rest our beloved Brianna Rodriguez . . . Dancing was her passion and now she’s dancing her way to heaven’s pearly gates,” her family posted to Facebook.
The other high school student was 14-year-old John Hilgert, the Houston Chronicle reports.
“John was a good student and athlete and so polite. He was the sweetest and smartest young man,” family friend Tracy Faulkner, who bought him a ticket to the concert, told the newspaper.
Hilgert was in the ninth grade at Memorial High School, according to KTRK-TV, citing a letter that school officials sent to parents over the weekend.
“Our hearts go out to the student’s family and to his friends and our staff at Memorial,” Principal Lisa Weir wrote in the letter. “This is a terrible loss, and the entire MHS family is grieving today.”
Another victim has been identified as 21-year-old Franco Patino (pictured bottom-right), the Dayton Daily News reports. Patino, who hailed from Illinois, was a student at the University of Dayton in Ohio majoring in mechanical engineering technology.
Patino had participated in an engineering co-op program and was a member of the Hispanic fraternity Alpha Psi Lambda, according to the newspaper.
Danish Baig, 27 (pictured bottom-left), was also among those killed, according to a Facebook post by his brother, Basil. Baig reportedly died after he tried to help his sister-in-law escape the crowd during the mayhem.
“Last night he showed his courageous act to save my sister in law from those horrendous things that were being done,” Basil wrote, who added that other attendees “were hitting pushing and shoving.”
Basil said his brother was a “beautiful soul” who would “put everyone before himself.” He had a smile that “would light up the room,” Basil added.
Rudy Peña (pictured top-right)of Laredo, Texas, whose age was not immediately available, also died in the melee, according to his family.
“My brother was the sweetest person, friendly, outgoing, he had many friends because he was always there for everyone,” his sister, Jennifer Peña, told the Laredo Morning Times.
The family has launched a GoFundMe page to help pay for funeral and memorial expenses.
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[Feature Photos: Facebook]
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