Deadly Astroworld crowd surge claims its NINTH victim: Concertgoer, 22, died on Thursday

Bharti Shahani, a 22-year-old college student from Texas, died on Thursday from injuries sustained at last week’s Astroworld festival in Houston.

Shahani had been declared brain dead on Tuesday and was on a ventilator at Houston Methodist Hospital, where she was taken after the concert.

She is now the ninth victim of a deadly crowd surge at the show, according to KTRK.

In a press conference Thursday afternoon, Shahani’s father Sunny said: ‘It was the wrong day and the wrong time for her to go to the concert, Astroworld.’  

‘Bharti used to take care of her whole family. Taking care of her younger sister, being like her mother, because my wife started working with me and supporting me in the business,’ her father said. 

‘It was her first festival, she wanted to have a good time. For the first time in her life she wanted to have fun and that was taken away from her,’ another family member added.

Shahani’s family has said nobody has reached out to them after the disaster at Astroworld. The 22-year-old was a student at Texas A&M, where she had switched her major from chemical engineering to computer science, her father said.

She had attended Friday’s festival with her sister and cousin, who all got separated during the crowd rush. 

Her father says they searched for her in various hospitals after losing touch with her, eventually finding her in critical condition at Houston Methodist. 

‘She was like an angel for us. She was the head of the family. She was very nice to us. Always calm, always listened, and she had a bright future.

‘Only thing I request from you all is to please, please make sure you request justice. I do not want somebody else’s daughter to go like this,’ he said.

Eight people died, 11 others went into cardiac arrest and hundreds were injured at Friday’s festival.  

‘This was the first thing she asked me for herself,’ Shahani’s mother said Wednesday. 

‘And at first, I said, “No, no, no,” because we don’t go to concerts. We don’t even know what this concert is all about.

‘I know that concerts might be music, having fun, but this is not a concert, no. This was not a concert. I don’t know what it was. but this was not a concert, because my baby didn’t come back.’

Shahani became the ninth victim of a deadly crowd surge at the event, as fans pleaded with Travis Scott to stop the show. 

Eight people were killed at the NRG stadium on Friday night, more than 300 people received treatment at an emergency field hospital set up there, and 11 others went into cardiac arrest and dozens more were knocked unconscious. 

Others whose deaths have been confirmed to various news outlets are 16-year-old Brianna Rodriguez and Rodolfo ‘Rudy’ Peña, 23. 

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.’

Sixteen-year-old Brianna 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.  

Travis Scott and Drake could pay ‘billions’ in damages as 150 victims join lawsuit suing the rappers after deadly crush at Astroworld concert

Travis Scott and Drake could pay ‘billions’ in damages after a lawsuit involving 150 people injured in the deadly crush at the Astroworld concert was announced.

Powerhouse Texas attorney Thomas J. Henry, father of Liam Payne’s girlfriend Maya Henry, says that he is being contacted by more people ‘by the hour.’

Eight people were killed at the NRG stadium on Friday night, more than 300 people received treatment at an emergency field hospital set up there, 11 others went into cardiac arrest and dozens more were knocked unconscious. 

‘More and more injured victims are contacting my firm by the hour,’ said Henry. ‘I believe the damages suffered by its victims could total in the billions.’

Among his clients is 23-year-old concertgoer Kristian Paredes whose complaint accuses Scott and Drake of ‘inciting mayhem’ at the event.

The eight dead (L-R): Rodolfo ‘Rudy’ Pena, 23; Jacob Jurinek, 20; Franco Patino, 21; Brianna Rodriguez, 16; Danish Baig, 27; Axel Acosta, 21; John Hilgert, 14; Madison Dubiski, 23.

Texas-resident Paredes says he was left ‘severely injured’ and is demanding $1 million to cover the costs of his healthcare treatment.

He ‘felt an immediate push’ at the front of the general admission section as Travis Scott got on stage, the complaint said. 

‘Many begged security guards hired by Live Nation Entertainment for help, but were ignored.’

The suit, filed in Houston’s Harris County court, claims Scott ‘had incited mayhem and chaos at prior events’ and that ‘defendants knew or should have known of (Scott’s) prior conduct.’

The suit also accuses Canadian rap superstar Drake, who joined Scott’s headline set, of contributing to the surge.

‘As Drake came onstage alongside of Travis Scott he helped incite the crowd even though he knew of Travis Scott’s prior conduct,’ the complaint charges.

He continued to perform even as the ‘crowd became out of control’ and the ‘crowd mayhem continued,’ it added. 

High-profile attorney Ben Crump announced Sunday he had also filed suit against Scott and Astroworld.   

Crump has represented the families of police killing victims George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.

He and co-counsel Bob Hilliard filed suit Sunday on behalf of 21-year-old concertgoer Noah Gutierrez, who described ‘a scene of chaos and desperation.’

The lawyers said they expected to file suit on behalf of other concertgoers during the week.

‘We are hearing horrific accounts of the terror and helplessness people experienced – the horror of a crushing crowd and the awful trauma of watching people die while trying unsuccessfully to save them,’ Crump and Hilliard said in the statement.

‘We urge others who suffered physical or emotional injury or witnessed the events of that day to contact us.’