A teen who loved dancing. A computer science student. An engineering student working on a medical device to help his ailing mother. And his friend and high school football teammate.
Authorities on Monday released the identifies of the eight people who died after fans at the Astroworld music festival in Houston suddenly pushed forward when rapper Travis Scott came on stage.
Harris County officials did not release the cause and manner in which the victims died. Michele Arnold, a spokeswoman with the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences that conducts all autopsies in Harris County, said in a statement it could be weeks before that information is available.
More Astroworld Festival Coverage
A picture of some of the people who died emerged over the weekend as their families and friends shared stories with reporters and on social media.
The dead ranged from 14 to 27 years old, according to Houston officials. As of Sunday, 13 people remained hospitalized. Harris County officials said Monday they didn't have updated information on those who were hospitalized.
Get Tri-state area news delivered to your inbox. Sign up for NBC New York's News Headlines newsletter.
City officials have said they are in the early stages of investigating what caused the pandemonium at the sold-out event founded by Scott and attended by about 50,000 fans.
Franco Patino, 21
Franco Patino, 21, was working toward a mechanical engineering technology degree at the University of Dayton, with a minor in human movement biomechanics, his father, Julio Patino, said in an interview. He was a member of Alpha Psi Lambda, a Hispanic interest fraternity, and the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, and was working in an engineering co-op program.
Patino described his son as a charismatic, energetic leader who was active in his community and intent on helping people with disabilities.
He said his son was working with a team on a new medical device, and that he wanted to find a way to help his mother walk again after she was severely injured in an automobile accident in Mexico two years ago.
Through tears, Patino described how his son — who enjoyed weight lifting, football and rugby — used his strength to break a door and free his mom from the wreckage.
“He loved his mom,” Patino said. “He said everything that he was doing, it was trying to help his mom. The entire goal.”
Julio Patino, of Naperville, Illinois, was in London on business when the phone rang around 3 a.m. He answered it and heard his wife, Teresita, crying. She said someone had called from a hospital about their 21-year-old son, Franco, and that a doctor would be calling her soon. About 30 minutes, she called back with the doctor on the line.
“The doctor was giving us the news that our son had passed away,” Patino said.
Patino said he had last spoken with his son about 2 p.m. Friday. Franco told his dad that there weren’t a lot a people at the festival site yet.
“Don’t worry, I’m fine,” Patino recalled his son saying. “I just said, ‘Ok, just be careful.‘”
Jacob Jurinek, 20
Jacob “Jake” Jurinek, 20, was a junior at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, where he was “pursuing his passion for art and media,” his family said in a statement Sunday. He was just a over two weeks short of his 21st birthday.
He was attending the concert with Patino, his friend and former high school football teammate, according to Patino’s father Julio Patino. He was deeply committed to his family and was known as “Big Jake” by his younger cousins.
He will be missed by his father, Ron Jurinek, with whom Jake became especially close after Jake's mother died in 2011.
“In the decade since, Jake and Ron were inseparable – attending White Sox and Blackhawks games, sharing their love of professional wrestling, and spending weekends with extended family and friends at Jake’s favorite place, the family cottage in Southwestern Michigan," the family's statement said.
“We are all devastated and are left with a huge hole in our lives,” his father, Ron Jurinek, added in an emailed statement.
Mirza "Danish" Baig, 27
Danish Baig, 27, who identified himself on Facebook as a district manager for AT&T, and appeared to be a devoted Dallas Cowboys fan, was among those who died at the the concert.
His brother Basil Baig told NBC DFW he was killed while saving his fiancée from getting trampled. She made it out alive, but he did not.
"You go to a concert to have fun, you don't go to a concert to die," Basil Baig said.
His funeral was held Sunday in Colleyville in the Dallas-Forth Worth area. Basil called for justice for his brother and the others who died at the concert.
"We lost our brother. We're grieving for all the families that lost their loved ones in this horrendous event," Basil said. "Travis Scott's team... everybody who was associated with this should be held accountable for the lives that were lost. We're grieving. We're in pain. We want you guys to know. Our brother was the most amazing person ever to us."
Brianna Rodriguez, 16
Brianna Rodriguez's family told People magazine that she was among those who perished at the concert. She was 16, a student at Heights High School and loved dancing, according to the family the magazine spoke with. A message left with the family was not immediately answered.
Axel Acosta, 21
Axel Acosta, 21, was a computer science major at Western Washington University. A law firm representing his family confirmed Acosta was among the victims who died at the festival, NBC affiliate KING5 in Seattle reports.
The school in Bellingham, Washington, released a statement Sunday: “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.”
John Hilgert, 14
Memorial High School ninth-grader John Hilgert, 14, was the youngest of those who died. Mourners began tying green ribbons around trees at the school over the weekend in his memory.
He was at the concert with classmate Robby Hendrix, whose mother, Tracy Faulkner, spoke with the Houston Chronicle. The boys had hoped to get a good spot to watch the show.
“Everything about that night was a tragedy,” Faulkner told the newspaper. “John was a good student and athlete and so polite. He was the sweetest and smartest young man.”
Madison Dubiski, 23
Madison Dubiski, 23, lived in Houston. She was a varsity cheerleader in high school and member of a community service group called the National Charity League, according to a former classmate who spoke to the Houston Chronicle.
“She was definitely the life of the party and loved by so many people," Lauren Vogler told the newspaper.
She was her mom's best friend and she loved watching her brother play sports, family friend Claudia Sierra told the Chronicle.
Rodolfo “Rudy” Pena, 23
Rodolfo “Rudy” Pena, 23, of Laredo, Texas, was a student at Laredo College and wanted to be Border Patrol agent, his friend Stacey Sarmiento said. She described him as a people person. Officials identified him as Rodolfo Pena, but friends called him Rudy.
“Rudy was a close friend of mine," she said. “We met in high school. He was an athlete. … He brought happiness anywhere he went. He was easy to get along with. It was like positive vibes from him at all times.”
“We all came to have a good time … it was just horrible in there," she added.
___
Associated Press writers Jamie Stengle and Juan Lozano in Houston contributed to this report. Chase reported from Dover, Delaware. Catalini reported from Trenton, New Jersey.
