PICTURED: Best friends celebrating birthday at Travis Scott’s Astroworld died in concert crush
Two Illinois best friends who went to Travis Scott Astroworld concert in Houston to celebrate birthday are identified among eight killed during stampede: Youngest victim is a 14-year-old boy
Photos of John Hilgert have been shared by loved-ones. The 14 year-old was the youngest victim of Friday’s crush at Astroworld Fest in HoustonAn image of an unclaimed body was also shared by police, with that victim since named as Axel Acosta, 21 Other victims include Danish Baig, 27, who was trampled while saving a relative Franco Patino, 21, who was a senior at the University of Dayton in Ohio, was also killed. He went to the concert with his best friend for his friend’s birthday That best friend, Jacob Jurinek, 20, also died at the concert Brianna Rodriguez, 16, and Rodolfo ‘Rudy’ Peña, 23, were also fatally injured at the event Rodriguez was a dancer and a junior in high schoolPeña was an aspiring model and dreamed of being a US Border Patrol agentHilgert was the youngest killed Rapper Travis Scott spoke about the event live on his Instagram on Saturday, telling fans he was ‘devastated’ and ‘working closely with authorities’ The deadly surge happened at 9:15pm Friday and nearly an hour later, at 10:10pm, concert producer Live Nation halted the show
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A pair of college-age best friends from Illinois were the latest victims to be identified in the stampede that killed eight people during Travis Scott’s Astroworld concert, which also took the life of a 14-year-old boy.
University of Dayton student Franco Patino, 21, was attending the event with his best friend, 20-year-old Jacob Jurinek, when both were trampled to death Friday night.
Jurinek had bought the tickets six months before the show to celebrate his upcoming 21st birthday on November 20.
The two young men grew up together in Naperville, Illinois, met in elementary school and were reuniting at the concert to celebrate.
‘They met in elementary school [in Naperville] and were best friends every step of each other lives,’ Franco’s brother Cesar Patino told reporters.
The college buddies joined the tragic list of fatalities, with seven of the eight being identified – including John Hilgert, the youngest victim of Friday night’s horror in Houston.
Patino (left) and Jurinek were best friends and attended the concert to celebrate Jurinek’s birthday
Patino (left) and Jurinek grew up in the same Illinois town and were best friends
John Hilgert, 14, was the youngest victim of the horrific crush which killed eight people at Friday night’s Astroworld Festival in Houston
Hilgert, left, was a ninth grader at Memorial High School and was remembered as a talented baseball player, as well as a popular student
Hilgert was pictured at the same time as Houston’s medical examiner shared a photo of another male victim’s body they were unable to identify
Scott organized the lineup for the Astroworld Festival in his native Houston
Patino was a huge fan of the rapper, traveling from southern Ohio to Houston for the concert, according to WGN9.
Jurinek, better known as Jake, attended Southern Illinois University.
Patino was studying engineering and was a member of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers and the Alpha Psi Lambda.
He was also a part of the society’s special interest house, which he founded with fellow student Andy Prieto to create.
‘Andy and I worked together day and night to make this dream come true because we believed it was a necessity to have a house for Hispanics to come together and have a little piece of familiar culture in a predominantly white institution,’ Patino said in an article about the society on the university’s website.
Jurinek is listed as a junior studying journalism on SIU’s ‘People Finder’ site.
‘We are brokenhearted to lose a member of the Saluki family, Jacob Jurinek, and we extend our deepest condolences to his family and friends,’ SIU Chancellor Austin A. Lane said in a statement Sunday. ‘Jacob was a creative, intelligent young man, with a promising career in journalism and advertising. As we mourn this loss in our community, we will keep Jacob’s family and friends in our thoughts.’
Hilgert was a ninth grader at Memorial High School in Houston and was remembered as a talented baseball player, as well as a popular student.
A spokesman for Spring Branch ISD said: ‘Our hearts go out to the student’s family and to his friends and our staff at Memorial. This is a terrible loss, and the entire MHS family is grieving today.
‘Please keep the student’s family in your thoughts and prayers as they face this tragedy. We will make counselors available to students next week to offer any help and support needed.’
John’s baseball coach Justin Higgs also paid a heartfelt tribute on Instagram. He wrote: ‘RIP John Hilgert. He got the Call up to the Major Leagues by the Almighty! John made an impact on anyone who met him and they always remembered him. I have memories of John I’ll never forget.
‘You had to love the kid. No option not too cause he was who he was. He loved the game if baseball. Was a privilege to coach this young man. Many prayers go out to any of his friends, teammates, and his family… especially Ms. Hilgert.
‘One of the nicest human beings I’ve ever met. John was an Angel the whole time I knew him… impacting others for good and he himself was a legend. The legend of John. Will meet again John. Till then watch over us my friend. Catcher, pitcher, shortstop, great kid. Lived his life to the fullest.’
Hilgert was pictured at the same time as Houston’s medical examiner shared a photo of another male victim’s body they were unable to identify.
That man’s family has since come forward, and he has been identified as Axel Acosta, 21, KTRK reported.
Axel Acosta, 21, had traveled from Washington to attend the festival – his first concert. Cops shared a photo of his body after they were unable to identify him
Acosta’s father Edgar, pictured left, says he struggled to file a missing person’s report because the family live out-of-state
A makeshift memorial was placed outside NRG Park, where the festival was held
Annunciation Catholic Church in Houston holds its own memorial for the victims
A visitor writes a note at the NRG Park memorial
Acosta had traveled from Washington to attend his first ever concert, his aunt Cynthia said. His father, Edgar, identified his remains at Memorial Medical Hospital.
Acosta turned 21 last month, and had been studying computer science at Western Washington University. His dad said he had struggled to file a missing person’s report in the wake of the deadly crush because the family lives out of state.
A brother member of one of the other victims slammed the ‘poorly’ managed event ran by ‘horrible’ people.
Danish Baig, 27, was one of people who died after a surge at the concert.
Baig was killed after trying to save a relative during the stampede at the concert, his brother Basil Baig confirmed on Facebook.
‘My brother was killed in this horrendous Astroworld event that was managed poorly and supervised by such horrible people,’ Basil wrote on Facebook.
He commended his late brother for his ‘courageous act’ and called him a ‘beautiful soul.’
Others whose deaths have been confirmed to various news outlets are 16-year-old Brianna Rodriguez and Rodolfo ‘Rudy’ Peña, 23.
Danish Baig, 27 (left), was killed at Travis Scott’s Astroworld after saving a relative during the stampede on Friday, his brother said. Franco Patino, 21 (right), also died, the University of Dayton said
Brianna Rodriguez, 16, (left) was a dancer and junior in high school. Rodolfo ‘Rudy’ Pena, 23,(right) was an aspiring model and dreamed of one day being a US Border Patrol agent. He died of cardiac arrest
‘My brother tried to save my sister in law from these horrendous acts that were being done to her in the process he lost his life,’ Basil wrote.
‘My brother Danish Baig [is] a beautiful soul whos[e] smile would light up the room and put everyone before himself. Last night he showed his courageous act to save my sister in law from those horrendous things that were being done.
‘I was there and I wasn’t able to save my brother.’
Basil reported that people were ‘hitting,’ ‘pushing’ and ‘shoving’ and ‘did not care for anyone’s life.’
He also alleged that superstar rapper and baby daddy to Kylie Jenner’s daughter Stormi ‘provoked these people and made them do just that [stampede] and more he called people to the stage to jump into the crowd and did not stop the show.’
Basil also said: ‘This was not the end my family and I will go to the Full extent to make sure he is brought to justice.’
His brother Basil (second left) confirmed his brother’s (left) death on Facebook and called what he did a ‘courageous act’
Brianna, pictured with her mother, was killed at the event
Pena died of cardiac arrest after being injured at the show
On Saturday, the family of 16-year-old Brianna Rodriguez confirmed that she was one of the eight victims who died
John Hilgret, 14, of Hunters Creek Village, was the youngest person to die at the concert. His death was confirmed on Saturday by officials at Memorial High School, where he was a freshman student.
Scott shared a message on his Instagram on Saturday, where he told fans he was ‘devastated’ and was ‘working closely with authorities’
Hilgret attended Friday’s concert with his long-time friend, Robby Hendrix, 15.
Hendrix’s mother, Tracy Faulkner, bought her son’s ticket it for his birthday and ‘ultimately regrets the decision.’
‘Everything about that night was a tragedy,’ Faulkner told the Houston Chronicle. ‘They were both in the same place at the same time and one came home and one we will never see.’
She said Hilgret and Hendrix had known each other for years and played football together.
‘John was a good student and athlete and so polite. He was the sweetest and smartest young man,’ she shared.
Eight people were killed at the event after a crowd surge happened
One witness described it as a ‘floor of bodies’ and fans were screaming at to ‘stop the show’
The chaos began after Scott took the stage. The star completed his set
Two others were identified by their families to have died at the tragic event.
Brianna Rodriguez, 16, People confirmed, and Rodolfo ‘Rudy’ Peña, 23, confirmed by the Laredo Morning Times, were among the eight.
Rodriguez was a dancer and a junior in high school.
‘Gone from our sites, but never from our hearts,’ her wrote family on Facebook.
Her family started a GoFundMe to help with funeral expenses. It has raised $8,910 out of its $30,000 goal.
Peña was an aspiring model and had dreams of becoming a U.S. Border Patrol agent, according to USA Today.
He drove five hours from Laredo to Houston with his friends to attend the show, where he died of cardiac arrest.
His sister told the Laredo Morning Times: ‘My brother was the sweetest person, friendly, outgoing, he had many friends because he was always there for everyone. Yes, he was a big fan of Travis, he loved his music.’
Around 2pm hundreds of fans stormed the festival’s VIP entrance. About seven hours later the surge in front of the main stage killed eight people but the two events appear to be unrelated
Approximately 50,000 people attended the sold-out Astroworld Festival at NRG Park on Friday. Witnesses said the chaos broke out after Scott took the stage to perform.
The surge happened at 9:15 p.m. and the ‘mass casualty incident’ was declared at that time. Nearly an hour later, at 10:10 p.m., the concert producer Live Nation halted the show.
Earlier on Friday, hundreds of people were filmed stampeding through a VIP entrance at the Live Nation-organized event, sparking fears of overcrowding and poor crowd control.
Scott, 29, continued to perform after eight people were crushed to death – including two victims aged just 14 and 16 – in what one witness described as a ‘floor of bodies.’
Video circulating on Twitter shows fans chanting ‘stop the show’ as concertgoers were being knocked down and crushed by other attendees.
Although he completed his 75-minute performance, at one point Scott was filmed calling for help. In another video he stood on a platform with his microphone while chaos unfolded beneath him.
As the chaos unfolded the rapper, who completed his show, even appeared to glance in the direction of passed-out fans as the show went on. Scott halted the performance at least once was filmed calling for security to help distressed fans in the front row.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner revealed during a press conference Saturday that the dead ranged in age from 14 to 27. Their cause of death has not yet been determined.
Meanwhile, Scott’s girlfriend Kylie Jenner, who is pregnant with their second child and attended the event, was blasted online for posting a clip of an ambulance tending to the injured and dead as the chaos unfolded.
But other videos from the night showed distraught fans begging concert staff to halt the performance and help people escape the surge.
‘People are f***ing dying, I want to save somebody’s life,’ a man said as he climbed on a platform where a cameraman was filming the performance.
