Corey Comperatore: Man killed at Trump rally in Pennsylvania a firefighter who ‘died a hero’

CNN
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Friends and neighbors are remembering firefighter Corey Comperatore -– the man shot and killed during the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump – as a family man who served his community and was quick to help friends in need.

Comperatore was one of the thousands of people who attended the rally in Butler, part of Trump’s 2024 reelection effort. He died trying to protect his family, according to according to Gov. Josh Shapiro. Pennsylvania State Police confirmed his identity on Sunday.

Authorities have identified the gunman in Saturday’s attack as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, who was killed by Secret Service agents at the scene after the shooting. The FBI is investigating the attack as an assassination attempt, the agency said.

Shapiro directed flags to be flown at half-staff in Comperatore’s memory.

“I just spoke to Corey’s wife and Corey’s two daughters,” Shapiro said Sunday.

“Corey was an avid supporter of the former president and was so excited to be there last night with him in the community,” the governor said.

“I asked Corey’s wife if it would be OK for me to share that we spoke. She said ‘yes.’ She also asked that I share with all of you that Corey died a hero,” Shapiro said.

“Corey dove on his family to protect them last night at this rally.”

“Corey was a girl dad. Corey was a firefighter. Corey went to church every Sunday. Corey loved his community. Most especially, Corey loved his family,” said Shapiro.

In addition to Comperatore, two people were critically injured in the incident, according to Pennsylvania State Police.

David Dutch, 57, of New Kensington, Pennsylvania, and James Copenhaver, 74, of Moon Township, Pennsylvania, are in stable condition, state police said in a news release.

The Marine Corps League of Pennsylvania, Inc. identified Dutch as a commandant in their organization’s location in Westmoreland County. Vice Commandant Matt Popovich said on Facebook that Dutch underwent two surgeries after being “shot in the liver and chest.”

“These victims and their families are certainly in our thoughts today,” said state police commissioner Col. Christopher Paris. “The Pennsylvania State Police continue to work tirelessly alongside our federal, state and local partners as this investigation continues.”

The former president was shot in his right ear, he said on social media, leaving his face covered in blood.

A GoFundMe campaign for the victims’ families, verified by the fundraising platform, had raised more than $3 million by Sunday afternoon, more than triple its initial goal. More than 49,000 donations have poured in, according to the website.

Speaking Sunday afternoon, President Joe Biden expressed his condolences to Comperatore’s family.

“We also extend our deepest condolences to the family of the victim who was killed,” the president said. “He was a father; he was protecting his family from the bullets being fired when he lost his life. God love him. We are also praying for the full recovery of those who were injured.”

Mike Morehouse, who lived next to Comperatore for years told the Associated Press he counts Comperatore as a hero and intends to vote in the upcoming election in his memory.

“As soon as I heard what happened and then learned that it was to Corey, I went upstairs as soon as I got home and I registered to vote,” Morehouse told the AP. “This is the first time I’ve ever voted and I think it will be in his memory.”

Matthew Achilles, who also lived near Comperatore, told CNN affiliate WTAE, “He was a real good guy. He really was. You hear stories all the time that it’s always the good ones that end up getting taken out, and unfortunately, that’s what happened.”

“He helped us out when I was real sick a couple years ago. I was in the hospital and almost died. Corey was one of the first people to message me and say ‘Hey, how can I help you,’” Achilles said.

Bishop David Zubik of the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh said in a statement that “Comperatore’s selfless act in the face of danger speaks to his strength of character, deep faith, and dedication to serving others.”

“Let us also take this moment to pray for unity and an end to violence and inflammatory rhetoric in our community and across our nation,” he said.

In the outpouring of sympathy, many have highlighted Comperatore’s dedication to the community he served.

“Corey Comperatore died a hero, the way he lived, shielding his family from gunfire. He was a former fire chief, a proud father and loving husband. We will pray for his family. May he rest in peace,” Robert Brooks, president of the Pennsylvania Professional Fire Fighters Association told CNN in a statement Sunday.

The Buffalo Township Board of Supervisors condemned political violence in a statement to CNN Sunday.

“Corey was a dedicated husband, father, friend, and volunteer to the community, and will be sorely missed,” the statement said.

Witnesses have described a wave of chaos and terror that unfolded after the shooter, perched on a rooftop just outside the venue, fired several shots from an AR-style weapon.

As shots rang out and the former president ducked below the podium, swarmed by Secret Service agents, attendees screamed and crouched toward the ground, video from the scene shows.

“It was just the scariest thing, there was not a lot of places you could hide there,” witness Amber DiFrischia told CNN.

DiFrischia and her husband, Mike captured video of the moment the shooter fired his gun. The video shows the gunman laying on the rooftop with his weapon drawn, and eventually shows the gunman deceased.

When the couple realized he had a gun, Amber said she immediately began yelling at officers and pointing to where he was located. The couple said that many of the officers were too close to the building to see the gunman on the roof. Mike saw one officer attempt to climb onto the roof, but the officer eventually fell back to the ground.

GOP Congressman Dan Meuser told CNN he was sitting in the front row of the rally with Pennsylvania Senate candidate Dave McCormick and Republican Rep. Mike Kelly. He saw a man fatally shot “no more than 20 feet behind” them, he said.

Joseph Meyn, a surgeon from Grove City, Pennsylvania, told CNN that he helped carry a man’s body out of the stadium.

“Everybody started, certainly, screaming, asking for a medic, and honestly, it was a bloody scene,” Meuser said.

He was to the far right of the podium, filming Trump’s speech, when he heard the gunshots.

“Just as I was panning back, I heard seven gunshots in rapid succession, in under two or three seconds. I am familiar with guns, I knew immediately it was gunfire,” Meyn told CNN. “I saw him get hit.”

Meyn said he looked back in the direction the gunshots had come from. “I saw a man in the bleachers was hit directly in the head … there was a woman who was hit in the hand and forearm, a noncritical wound.”

He said he went over to see if he could render any aid, but another doctor was already tending to the woman who’d been shot.

“I helped carry the body of the man out of the stands,” he said. “They took the body to the tent behind the bleachers.”

Dr. Jim Sweetland, a retired emergency room doctor, attempted to administer CPR on Comperatore. Sweetland told CNN he heard shots ring out and then “a woman’s voice cry out ‘he’s been shot. He’s down.’”

After performing CPR with the help of some bystanders, Sweetland looked up to see Comperatore’s family and said the look on their faces “is something I’ll never forget.”

Sweetland said he wants to tell Comperatore’s family, “Your father died a hero.”

As he was leaving the rally, a combat vet stopped Sweetland and said, “Brother, there’s blood on your face, here’s some water, you can wash your face off with it,” the doctor recalled.

“That was another American reaching out to help me after I tried to help Corey and to me that’s what America is all about,” he said.

Republican Rep. Ronny Jackson of Texas said that his nephew was also injured in the shooting.

In an interview with Fox News, Jackson said his nephew “was grazed in the neck, a bullet crossed his neck, cut his neck and he was bleeding.”

The congressman called it a “horrific, horrific experience.”

Another attendee who witnessed the shooting described an atmosphere of “complete shock.”

“It was too close for comfort,” Donna Hutz told CNN. She and her son were just a few rows in front of the attendees who were shot. She looked up and saw the injured attendees with lots of blood covering the bleachers, she said.

The shooting created shockwaves around the world, with international leaders including Biden, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the Vatican condemning the attack and political violence more broadly.

Authorities are still investigating both the shooter’s possible motives and how he was able to access the area with a weapon.

“It is surprising, but all the details of that will come out in the investigation,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Kevin Rojek said in a news conference when asked how the shooter was able to fire several shots.

This story has been updated with additional information.