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, Pennsylvania, part of Trump’s 2024 reelection effort. He died trying to protect his family, 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, who directed flags to be flown at half-staff in Comperatore’s memory, said he spoke to Comperatore’s wife and two daughters Sunday.
An avid Trump supporter who was excited to be at the rally, Comperatore dove on his family to protect them from the gunfire, Shapiro said. 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.
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 Sunday in a news release. Dutch and Copenhaver are recovering at Allegheny General Hospital, according to hospital officials.
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 Dutch underwent two surgeries after being “shot in the liver and chest.”
President Joe Biden expressed his condolences to Comperatore’s family. The Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Company hung Comperatore’s uniform outside the fire station Sunday in a memorial to his life. 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. 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. Speaking Sunday afternoon, President Joe Biden expressed his condolences to Comperatore’s family.
Dr. Jim Sweetland, a retired emergency room doctor, attempted to administer CPR on Comperatore. Sweetland told source 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.”
Republican Rep. Ronny Jackson of Texas said 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.”
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.
