rachel-parkerThe Long Beach woman killed during the shooting at a Las Vegas music festival has been identified as Rachael Parker, 33.

Parker had been in Las Vegas helping a friend celebrate her birthday, according to Arlene Richardson, a local real estate broker and friend of Parker. After the shooting, and when Richardson couldn’t get in contact with Parker, Richardson reached out to another friend of Parker’s.

“I was trying to get in touch with her to find out if she was okay because Rachael wasn’t returning my texts, I just had a terrible feeling,” Richardson told the Post. “So I ended up texting her, and at first she said she was okay […] but she was going to go to the hospital, and then this morning she told me [Rachael] passed away.”

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Parker was a records technician at the Manhattan Beach Police Department (MBPD), where she had worked as a civilian officer for 10 years, according to the MBPD. She was known as the “matron” of the department, according to Richardson.

According to the department, she was among four MBPD employees who were in attendance at the music festival. An unnamed sworn officer was also shot, suffering minor injuries.

“I know for sure that she’d have lots of good stories about people that walked in,” Richardson laughed. “She’s like, ‘Yeah, I’m one of the first faces they see when they walk in to complain about something.’ They’re very devastated over there, I‘ve talked to some of her coworkers already so I know they’ll be doing something for her.”  

Richardson and Parker became fast friends when Parker moved to Long Beach from Redondo Beach. Richardson said they hit it off immediately, and was excited that a fellow single woman was moving in downstairs.

“We were just saying oh my gosh a year went by so fast but it feels like we’ve been friends forever,” Richardson said. “And she’s just so funny. She has such a funny sense of humor and is just amazing.”

Richardson recounted Parker’s love for animals, especially dogs. She had adopted two rottweilers, one named Maddie who she’d picked up at the Long Beach Animal Shelter about six months ago.


 

“There were six rottweilers that somebody left in a backyard and she found out that they were at the shelter,” Richardson said. “She was like, ‘I have to get one, I have to get one,’ and she asked me to go with her. She adopted Maddie and so we went and we looked at all of them that were there and her heart was just breaking, she was like ‘Oh my gosh, I wish I could take all of them,’ but Maddie just seemed like the best fit.”

“She loved dogs so much, she’s such a dog and animal person in general, she loved dogs so much that if anybody would ask her what she would want the world to know, is to adopt dogs that really need help,” Richardson said. “She deserves all the praise, she was just such a great person.”

PREVIOUSLY: At Least One Long Beach Resident Dead in Las Vegas Massacre

At least one Long Beach resident has been reported dead as a result of the shooting at a Las Vegas music festival, where a gunman opened fire on fans from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.

According to Arlene Richardson, a local real estate broker, her friend was killed in the shooting that took at least 58 lives, and injured over 500 others. Richardson’s friend had moved to Long Beach exactly one year ago, she told the Post.

The mass shooting, which began as singer Jason Aldean was performing at the Route 91 Harvest Country Music Festival on the Las Vegas Strip, is being called the worst in United States history.

This story is developing and will be updated as more information becomes available.

Asia Morris is a Long Beach native covering arts and culture for the Long Beach Post. You can reach her @hugelandmass on Twitter and Instagram and at [email protected].