Terminally Ill Man Celebrating 40th Birthday Was Killed in Las Vegas Shooting: ‘He Was Just Amazing’

Larry Parra was terminally ill and on dialysis, but a close friend tells PEOPLE he was still happy on Sunday as he headed to an outdoor country music festival in Las Vegas to see Jake Owen, his “favorite artist.”

“He was fulfilled,” says Jason Rogers, 56, Parra’s best friend of 25 years. “He really just wanted to live his life.”

Rogers, who used to live with Parra in Las Vegas, says he moved to Minnesota in February but came back to Nevada for four days to celebrate Parra’s 40th birthday.

On Sunday, the festival’s final day, Rogers bought them both tickets to see Owen.

When they entered the venue, they were told that there might be fireworks so they shouldn’t be startled if they heard a loud noise.

But when the rapid popping sounds of gunfire began overhead, just after 10 p.m., Rogers knew immediately they were not festive.

“I heard the shots, and after I got up from the ground from ducking I went to try and find Larry,” who had gone to get some food and beer because his blood pressure was getting low, Rogers recalls.

“I didn’t want to leave him because he is a very dear and close friend,” Roger says.

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When Rogers eventually did see Parra again, about 30 minutes later, he was lying on the ground with a bullet wound to his head.

People unintentionally trampled over Parra’s body, Rogers says, as he witnessed it all in shock.

“I saw a lot of dead people,” Rogers says. “It was horrible. I was freaking out.”

Parra was one of the 58 people killed by gunman Stephen Paddock, who had opened fire on the crowd from his 32nd-floor hotel room nearby before killing himself.

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Rogers — who is now back in Minnesota and trying to come to terms with his loss — says that Parra was the “most giving and generous man.”

“He would give you his last dollar if you needed it,” he says. “He was just amazing and so thoughtful. I am going to miss him dearly.”

How to Help

Friends and family are asked to report missing people believed to be connected to the shooting using the hotline 1-800-536-9488.

Anyone with photo or video evidence of the shooting is asked to call 1-800-CALL-FBI.

A victims’ fund has been started on GoFundMe by Steve Sisolak, the Clark County, Nevada, commission chair. Other groups providing relief include the local chapter of the American Red Cross and the National Compassion Fund.