2 high school students, an engineering student and a man who was trying to save his fiancée are among the Astroworld Festival victims

CNN

By Alanne Orjoux, CNN

Two high school students, a mechanical engineering technology student from Illinois and a man who was trying to save his fiancée are among the eight people who died at the Astroworld Festival in Houston on Friday night, authorities said.

Rapper Travis Scott, who was performing, has said he will pay for the funerals of the deceased concertgoers.

Here’s what we know about the victims:

Axel Acosta Avila, 21

Acosta was a junior at Western Washington University and had an interest in computer science, according to the university. He was from Tieton, Washington.

His brother Joel Acosta told CNN that Axel had turned 21 in October.

The student was at the event alone, his aunt Cynthia Acosta told CNN affiliate KTRK. “It was his first time going to an event like that,” she told the Houston station.

According to Joel Acosta, the family last heard from his brother around 5 p.m. on Friday.

On Saturday, the Harris County Medical Examiner’s Office released a description and asked the public for help identifying the remains.

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 on Sunday.

His family said 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 was held Sunday in Colleyville, his brother said.

Basil Baig said his brother’s fiancée survived but is bruised all over her body and is traumatized. Basil, who also was there, also said he was hurt and traumatized.

Another brother, Mirza Ammar Baig, told CNN on Tuesday that Danish had planned to buy a house for their parents by the end of the month.

“It’s unbearable. It’s unspeakable,” he said of his brother’s death. “I’m the older brother, but he was the older brother to me. He led this family in a direction that I couldn’t have done in any other way. … To wake up and not be able to hear his voice, to touch him, to kiss him, to tell him how much we love him, it’s not going to happen anymore. And the way he left this world, it’s not just.”

Basil Baig was asked what he’d miss the most about Danish. “His smile. He used to light up the room, man. His jokes. Everything that he used to do.”

“Anything that he did, he put everyone before himself, and that’s what he did until he died, till his last breath,” Basil said.

Madison Dubiski, 23

Dubiski, who was from Cypress, Texas, was listed by the Harris County Medical Examiner’s Office as one of the people who died.

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.

Jacob Jurinek, 20

College student Jacob Jurinek was among the people who died Friday, according to a statement released by his university in Illinois.

Jurinek was a junior studying journalism at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, the school says.

In the release, SIU Chancellor Austin Lane said Jurinek “was a creative, intelligent young man, with a promising career in journalism and advertising.”

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.

“He was loved by so many because of the loyal, loving, selfless, protective, funny, and caring person he was,” his family said in a statement. “Even though he was a hardworking individual, he would always try to make time for his family and the people he cared about. We will miss the big heart Franco had and his passion for helping others.”

Rodolfo Peña, 23

Peña lived in Laredo, Texas, and studied at Laredo College, according to his Facebook page.

His older brother Guadalupe Peña set up a verified GoFundMe account for funeral expenses.

“I am starting a go fund me for my youngest brother (Rodolfo Angel Peña)’s passing please donate out of heart anything is great,” the online fundraising post reads.

Peña was 23, according to CNN affiliate KTRK, which spoke with his sister.

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.

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CNN’s Keith Allen, Steve Almasy, Rosa Flores, Andy Rose, Caroll Alvarado and Melissa Alonso contributed to this report.