CHICAGO (NewsNation Now) — Funeral arrangements have been set for two friends who were killed in a crowd surge at the Astroworld festival last week in Houston.
Franco Patino, 21, and Jacob “Jake” Jurinek, 20, were among nine who died at the concert headlined and curated by Travis Scott. The men were childhood friends from Naperville, Illinois.
Their funerals will be held on Nov. 20, the day of Jurinek’s 21st birthday.
Patino was described by his family as a charismatic, energetic leader who was active in his community and intent on helping people with disabilities. He was a mechanical engineering technology student at the University of Dayton, with a minor in human movement biomechanics.
Jurinek was a junior at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, where he was “pursuing his passion for art and media,” his family said in a statement. He will be missed by his father, Ron Jurinek, with whom Jake became especially close after Jake’s mother died in 2011.
On Wednesday, Bharti Shahani was announced as the ninth person to die as a result of the tragedy. All of the concertgoers who died on Nov. 5 were between the ages of 14 and 27. The youngest victim, a 9-year-old boy, remains in a medically induced coma, according to his family.
In the week since the tragedy, more than 20 lawsuits have been filed by the families of victims and concertgoers accusing Astroworld organizers of failing to take simple crowd-control steps or staff properly.
Attorneys Ben Crump and Alex Hilliard held a news conference Friday to announce more than 90 additional lawsuits on behalf of Astroworld victims.
Crump and Hillard were joined by concertgoers who detailed their festival experience as “chaotic” and a “war zone.”
“They went to the concert expecting it to be safe, not deadly,” Crump said. “This should have never happened. Everybody and anybody who had any responsibility for this festival should be held accountable.”
Patino’s funeral Mass is set for 2 p.m. at Holy Spirit Catholic Community Church. Jurinek’s memorial Mass will be held at 10 a.m. at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church. Both burials will be private.
Scott has said he would cover funeral costs for the victims and provide direct help to families.
