Corey Comperatore, 50, was identified by his family members as the individual who was fatally shot during an assassination attempt on former President Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Comperatore, a former fire chief for Buffalo Township and a volunteer firefighter, was killed by Thomas Matthew Crooks, who fired at Trump from a sniper’s position around 130 yards away during the campaign rally.
In addition to Comperatore’s tragic death, two other individuals were seriously wounded in the shooting, and former President Trump narrowly escaped harm with a slight graze to his ear during the harrowing attack.
In a post on Facebook, the victim’s sister, Dawn Comperatore Schafer, expressed that Corey bravely protected his daughters and was a true hero.
“His wife and girls just lived through the unthinkable and unimaginable,” Dawn Comperatore Schafer wrote.
“My baby brother just turned 50 and had so much life left to experience. Hatred has no limits and love has no bounds. Pray for my sister-in-law, nieces, my mother, sister, me and his nieces and nephews as this feels like a terrible nightmare but we know it is our painful reality.”
Alongside the Facebook post was a picture of Corey joyously marking his 50th birthday.
Witnesses present at the rally reported that one individual, presumably Comperatore, sustained a gunshot wound to the head. An emergency room physician who was at the event recounted administering CPR to a rally attendee, as per accounts.
Another family member, likely the victim’s daughter named Allyson Comperatore, also used Facebook to express her grief and offer a heartfelt tribute.
“Yesterday time stopped. And when it started again, my family and I started living a real-life nightmare,” Allyson wrote. “He was the best dad a girl could ask for.”
“The media will not tell you that he died a real-life super hero. They are not going to tell you how quickly he threw my mom and I to the ground. They are not going to tell you that he shielded my body from the bullet that came at us.”
“He loved his family. He truly loved us enough to take a bullet for us.”
An online fundraising campaign established to support Corey Comperatore’s family has garnered close to $80,000 in donations so far.
Following the tragic incident, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro personally spoke with Corey’s wife, emphasizing that Corey was known for his strong faith.
“We lost a fellow Pennsylvanian last night,” Shapiro said at a news conference. “Corey Comperatore was a girl dad. Corey was a firefighter. Corey went to church every Sunday. Corey loved his community, and most especially Corey loves his family. Corey was an avid supporter of the former president and was so excited to be there last night with him in the community.”
“I asked Corey’s wife if it would be okay 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, that Corey dove on his family to protect them,” the governor said.
“Last night at this rally, Corey was the very best of us. May his memory be a blessing.”
Shapiro concluded his remarks by noting that political disagreements “can never, ever be addressed through violence.”
“Disagreements are okay, but we need to use a peaceful political process to settle those differences,” he said.
For four years, Matt Achilles, a neighbor of Comperatore, shared that Comperatore was not only a great neighbor but also a committed public servant, as reported by the Tribune-Review.
“He was a good person,” Achilles said Sunday morning. “We might not have agreed on the same political views, but that didn’t stop him from being a good friend and neighbor.”
“He donated money to us when I was in the hospital and he would always come by at our yard sales. He always waved hello when I drove past his house.”
