HOUSTON – On Sunday, people prayed for the eight people who lost their lives at the Astroworld Music Festival Friday night.
Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale hosted a prayer vigil at the Annunciation Catholic Church.
“We’re all at a loss explaining what happened. All we can do is pray for the ones who unfortunately perished, and pray for the ones who are still injured,” McIngvale said.
Several officials, including Judge Lina Hidalgo, Chief Sam Peña and Fort Bend County Sheriff Eric Fagan attended the vigil to honor the lives lost.
“I can only imagine what they feel. The heartbreak,” McIngvale said.
What was supposed to be a fun night turned into tragedy. Officials say the youngest victim was 14-years-old, and the oldest 27-years-old.
“We have to remember the nation is grieving. We have victims from Illinois, we have a victim from Washington State, and many victims are Texans,” Hidalgo said.
As people continue to pray for the victims, their families are searching for answers as to what happened.
“There is still a lot of unanswered questions but we are going to sift through all of that. We are focusing on the actions of the crowd and what led them to push and surge towards the front of that stage,” Peña said.
Charles Gamez was at the concert and attended Sunday’s prayer vigil. He made a t-shirt with the passage Psalm 91 to pray for protection. He and his family made it out before the chaos unfolded.
“It could have been my little brother. It could have been us. We just feel sad for the families,” Gamez said.
Mattress Mack said he will help the families with funeral expenses.