'They were like brothers': Best friends from Naperville among eight dead at Houston concert

A pair of longtime best friends from Naperville who traveled to Houston for a weekend music festival were among eight concertgoers killed Friday when a crowd surged toward the stage during a performance by rapper Travis Scott.

Franco Patino and Jacob Jurinek, both 21 and graduates of Neuqua Valley High School, died during the Astroworld music festival at Houston's NRG Park, their families said Sunday.

“We are all devastated and are left with a huge hole in our lives,” Ron Jurinek, Jacob's father, said in a written statement. “Right now, we ask for the time and space for our family to process this tragic news and begin to heal. We're comforted by the fact that the hundreds of people Jake touched over the years will carry a piece of his spirit with them.”

According to the statement, Jake was beloved by his family and a seemingly countless number of friends for his contagious enthusiasm, boundless energy and unwavering positive attitude. Known as “Big Jake” by his younger cousins, the statement says he will be remembered most as the best friend to his father — they were brought closer together than ever by the passing of Jake's mother, Alison, in 2011.

Jurinek was a journalism student with a specialty in advertising at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, according to the university. He also worked as a student intern with the university's athletic media team, his LinkedIn profile states.

“We are brokenhearted to lose a member of the Saluki family, Jacob Jurinek, and we extend our deepest condolences to his family and friends,” SIU Chancellor Austin Lane said in the university's statement. “Jacob was a creative, intelligent young man, with a promising career in journalism and advertising. We understand this comes as a shock to many of our students. As we mourn this loss in our community, we will keep Jacob's family and friends in our thoughts.”

Patino was a mechanical engineering technology major who was minoring in human movement biomechanics, according to the University of Dayton, where he was a junior. He was a member of Alpha Psi Lambda, a Hispanic-interest fraternity; the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers; and was working in an engineering co-op program in Mason, Ohio.

“He had a really big heart,” said his older brother, Julio Patino Jr. “He was always helping out other people. He was just the type of person who always wanted to be there for others.”

Franco Patino chose to major in engineering because he wanted to improve the lives of others, especially his mother, who has a medical condition that makes it difficult for her to walk, his older brother said.

“The only reason why he chose that career path is that he wanted to help out my mom and eventually know how to develop some type of exoskeleton to help her walk again one day,” Julio Patino Jr. said.

Julio Patino Sr. told The Associated Press that Franco's mother was severely injured in an automobile accident in Mexico two years ago. 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,” Julio Patino Sr. said. “He said everything that he was doing, it was trying to help his mom. The entire goal.”

Julio Patino Jr. said that in the engineering co-op, Franco was helping to develop a way to prevent blockages in arteries.

“Even then he was helping out others,” he said.

He said Franco and Jurinek had been best friends since grade school.

“They were so close to each other. They were like brothers,” he said. “Even at the very end, they were together.”

Patino, Jurinek and the others died as chaos erupted in a crowd of about 50,000 Friday night, according to news reports. The dead ranged in age from 14 to 27.

Julio Patino Jr. called the disaster “a tragedy on many different levels” and said he believes it was preventable.

“It's unacceptable. Disgusting,” he said, noting reports that the performance continued as audience members collapsed and received medical assistance. “And seeing my little brother, in his final moments, in video, is heartbreaking. I want to see change. I don't want this to ever happen again.”

Among those who saw Jurinek in his last moments was 23-year-old Houston resident Izel Ayala and her sister, 19-year-old Ruby Ayala.

When they learned that Ayala and her sister were at their first hip-hop concert, Jurinek said, “Protect them at all costs,” she recalled.

“He took us physically under his wing,” Ayala added.

She described the scene as the crowd surged and crushed members of the audience.

“It was for sure scary. We were cheek to cheek with other people, all these strangers around us,” Ayala sad. “If we would have just switched positions or if we were just in his position, we would have gone the same path to death. That would have been us.”

Julio Patino Jr. said his family is still working on funeral arrangements. Friends from his brother's fraternity held a vigil for him at Dayton over the weekend and there will be another vigil on campus Monday.

He warned that some GoFundMe accounts out there are fake. He said there is no GoFundMe account, but people who want to help can contact his brother Cesar through Twitter.

• Daily Herald wire services contributed to this report.