Las Vegas shooting victim: Christopher Roybal, Aurora, Colorado

By Michael Scott Davidson Las Vegas Review-Journal

7 years ago

Christopher Roybal, 28, was a U.S. Navy combat veteran who had completed multiple tours in Afgh ... — Christopher Roybal, 28, was a U.S. Navy combat veteran who had completed multiple tours in Afghanistan. He most recently lived in Colorado Springs where he managed a local gym. (Crunch Fitness)

Christopher Roybal, 28, was a U.S. Navy combat veteran and spent time in Afghanistan as a member of a dog handling team. (Facebook)

A Navy combat veteran who had served multiple tours in Afghanistan is among those killed in the attack on the Route 91 Harvest country music festival Sunday.

Christopher Roybal, 28, died in Las Vegas just a few days shy of his Oct. 9 birthday, said David Harman, owner of a gym that Roybal managed. He came to the music festival with his friends and mother.

Hundreds of people gathered along the streets of Corona, California, Monday evening for a procession as Roybal was delivered home. The procession started on from the Ontario Airport and continued along Southbound Interstate 15 and adjacent streets until it arrived at Thomas Miller Mortuary.

A family friend, Cristian Cuppetelli, created a memorial video of Monday’s procession and posted it on Facebook.

Roybal was born in Paramount, California, and lived in Corona for most of his life. He moved to Colorado early this year to help open a new Crunch Fitness location, Harman said. He worked for the company about three years.

“The reason we hired him on was his discipline and his work ethic,” Harman said. “He wasn’t somebody who reported problems. He solved them.”

Roybal served in the U.S. Navy from 2007 to 2012 and was deployed to Afghanistan from July 2011 to May 2012 as part of a dog handling team, according to the Navy. Roybal received several awards and medals during his time in the military, including an Army Commendation Medal, Combat Action Ribbon and National Defense Service Medal.

In an uncanny Facebook post from July 18, Roybal reflected on what it’s like to be shot at.

“Sensory overload…followed by the most amount of natural adrenaline that could never be duplicated through a needle,” Roybal wrote. “I was excited, angry and manic.”

“It’s a nightmare no amount of drugs, no amount of therapy and no amount of drunk talks with your war veteran buddies will ever be able to escape.”

According to his obituary on Legacy.com, Roybal is survived by his mother, Debby Allen, father, Samuel Roybal, brothers Jacob, Jayson and Nicholas; sisters, Nina and Jillian; step-father, John Allen; step-mother, Missy Roybal; grandparents, Stalin and Maria Mendoza; uncles, Stalin, Michael, Larry and Andre; aunts, Tricia, Liza and Tami

Contact Michael Scott Davidson at sdavidson@reviewjournal.com or 702-477- 3861. Follow @davidsonlvrj on Twitter. Contact Madelyn Reese at mreese@viewnews.com or 702-383-0497. Follow @MadelynGReese on Twitter.