North Texan Trying To Save Fiancée, High School Students & Future Engineer Among Astroworld Victims
NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM/CNN) — Authorities have confirmed a North Texas man trying to save his fiancée, two high school students and a mechanical engineering technology student from Illinois are among the eight people who died at the Astroworld Festival in Houston Friday night.
Seven of the victims have been identified.
Here's what we know about some of the victims.
Danish Baig, 27
Baig, from Euless, Texas, died trying to save his fiancée, who was getting stomped on and hit in the crowd surge at the concert, his brother Basil Baig told CNN Sunday.
His family says he was an amazing individual who loved with all his heart.
"People would admire him for who he was," Basil Baig told CNN.
His funeral will be held Sunday in Colleyville, Texas, his brother said.
Basil Baig said his brother's fiancée survived but is bruised all over her body and is traumatized.
John Hilgert, 14
Hilgert was a freshman at Memorial High School in Houston, Spring Branch Independent School District spokesperson Terry Abbott told CNN.
Memorial High School Principal Lisa Weir sent a letter Saturday to parents at the school, informing them of the death.
"We are deeply saddened to inform you that a male ninth grade student died ... in an incident at the Astroworld Festival. 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," Weir's letter reads.
Brianna Rodriguez, 16
Rodriguez was a junior at Heights High School in Houston, according to a verified GoFundMe account established by her family.
"Dancing was her passion and now she's dancing her way to heaven's pearly gates," the fundraising post says.
Franco Patino, 21
Patino, a senior at the University of Dayton, was studying mechanical engineering technology and human movement biomechanics, according to a statement from the university.
He was a member of Alpha Psi Lambda, a Hispanic-interest fraternity, the statement said, and was originally from Naperville, Illinois.
Jacob "Jake" Jurinek, 20
Jurinek graduated from Neuqua High School in Naperville, Illinois in 2019 and was currently a junior at Southern Illinois University — Carbondale, where he was studying art and media.
According to the Washington Post he bought the Astroworld tickets six months ago to celebrate his upcoming birthday on November 20 and had traveled to Houston with his best friend, Franco Patino.
Axel Acosta, 21
Acosta was a previously unidentified victim that had been recovered from Memorial Hermann Hospital after the incident.
According to family, Acosta was a student studying computer science at Western Washington University and traveled from Washington alone to attend Astroworld.
The University released a statement Sunday saying, "By all accounts, Axel was a young man with a vibrant future. We are sending our condolences to his family on this very sad day."
So far, three separate lawsuits have been filed against rappers Travis Scott and Drake, for supposedly being negligent by inciting "a riot and violence".
Rudy Peña, 23
Peña was the youngest of five siblings from Laredo, who family members said went to Houston with a group of friends.
The 23-year-old, who was a graduate of Joseph W. Nixon High School in Laredo and had attended Laredo College, had hopes of working for U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
(© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The CNN Wire™ & © 2021 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company contributed to this report.)
