Funeral held for Corona veteran killed in Las Vegas shooting

CORONA, Calif. (KABC) -- An emotional funeral was held in Corona on Thursday for a 28-year-old veteran who was killed in the Las Vegas shooting.

Family and friends attended mass at St Matthew's Catholic Church for Christopher Roybal, a 10-year veteran of the U.S. Navy.

He served four tours of duty in Afghanistan and after leaving service, he helped open fitness gyms in Colorado.

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He was described as a loving, kind and compassionate person.

Roybal was in Las Vegas to celebrate his 29th birthday when he was among 58 people killed on Oct. 1.

Gunman Stephen Paddock opened fire with automatic weapons from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, where thousands of people were gathered below listening to country music artist Jason Aldean play live.

Roybal's father said Christopher's Navy training immediately kicked in when the gunfire started.

"When that all-familiar sound from war came back to him and immediately went into that mode of protecting everybody around him like he did in Afghanistan -- the sound nobody will understand -- Christopher just started saving lives and not for one second thought about his own life. This is my son, Christopher. " his father said.

Roybal was with his mother at the concert, but they were separated in the chaos caused by the shooting. She identified her son's body the next day.

"He always made me feel so beautiful, so amazing, and I'm sure that a lot of you in here understand exactly what I'm saying because he was such an amazing soul," she said.

Family members said he loved country music. As a send off, the priest encouraged all loved ones attending his service to gather together and sing him a country song as a finale goodbye.