Here are things to know for Monday, Nov. 15:
1. 9-year-old Ezra Blount dies after being trampled at Astroworld Festival, bringing death toll to 10
Recommended Videos
Ezra Blount, the 9-year-old who was critically injured at Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival, has died, according to attorney Benjamin Crump.
Ezra was in the hospital fighting for his life after being trampled in the crowd surge at the festival on Nov. 5. He was placed on a ventilator before being pronounced brain dead earlier this week.
Crump sent the following statement to KPRC 2 Sunday night:
“The Blount family tonight is grieving the ultimate, incomprehensible loss of their precious son. This should not have been the outcome of taking their son to a concert, a joyful celebration. Ezra’s death is absolutely heartbreaking. We are committed to seeking answers and justice for the Blount family. But, tonight, we stand in solidarity with the family, in grief, and in prayer.”
2. Bond set at $75,000 for mom charged with murder following DWI-related crash that killed 4-year-old daughter
A mother has been charged with felony murder after causing a crash that killed her 4-year-old daughter and injured four other children early Sunday, according to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office. Though she did not appear in court Monday morning, 35-year-old Rosalia Sanchez’s bond was set at $75,000.
HCSO says Sanchez was driving in the 4200 block of E. Sam Houston Pkwy N. around 4:30 a.m. when she struck a traffic signal device, tipping it over, then struck a concrete barrier wall, before coming to a stop in the southbound service road near Woodforest.
Five children, ranging in ages from 2 to 10 years old, were in the vehicle with her.
3. First Lady Jill Biden visits Houston as part of nationwide effort to vaccinate children
First Lady Jill Biden arrived in Houston on Sunday as she continues to urge parents and guardians to allow children ages 5-11 to get vaccinated.
The First Lady, along with the U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy visited a pediatric COVID-19 vaccination clinic at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston’s Medical Center.
“The president and I know how difficult this has been for your family,” FLOTUS said. “And, I’m here today because we care about you and your children. Joe and our team have been working every day to give you what you need to keep your family safe in this pandemic.”
Texas Rep. Al Green, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, Rep. Sylvia Garcia, Rep. Lizzie Fletcher joined alongside the two as they spoke with parents and children about the importance of kids getting the vaccine.
4. Democrat Beto O’Rourke running for Texas governor in 2022
Democrat Beto O’Rourke is running for governor of Texas, pursuing a blue breakthrough in America’s biggest red state after his star-making U.S. Senate campaign in 2018 put him closer than anyone else in decades.
O’Rourke’s announcement Monday kicks off a third run for office in as many election cycles. He burst into the 2020 Democratic presidential primary as a party phenomena but dropped out just eight months later as money and fanfare dried up.
“It’s not going to be easy. But it is possible,” O’Rourke said in an interview with The Associated Press ahead of his announcement. “I do believe, very strongly, from listening to people in this state that they’re very unhappy with the direction that (Gov.) Greg Abbott has taken Texas.”
5. KPRC 2 Investigates: Cellphone store employee caught selling customer information
We’ve got a warning about personal information being sold to would-be thieves. KPRC 2 Investigates explains how criminals paid cash to get the personal information of dozens of people. Hear how an FBI investigation involving dozens of people focused on a cellphone worker in the Houston area.
Cellphone store employee charged in the huge scheme
When we hear about stolen identities and data breaches we usually have no way to know where our personal information was leaked in the beginning. But FBI Agents working in Houston followed the trail and it led them to a cell phone store in Missouri City. Federal agents say thieves convinced an employee at a Cricket - MobileLink store to pass along the cell phone information of customers.
“The individual that we arrested, was a normal kid just working at a cell phone store, he got hired for lack of a better term by the bad guys to make these exchanges and no criminal record at all,” said FBI Special Agent David Ko.