Corey Comperatore, retired fire chief of Buffalo Township, Pennsylvania id as attendee killed during attempted Donald Trump assassination at hands of Thomas Matthew Crooks during Butler, PA rally. ‘Hero’ father had sought to protect his two daughters and wife when bullets started hailing at podium where the family was sitting behind.
A crowd attendee killed during an attempted assassination attempt on former President, Donald Trump at a Saturday rally in Pennsylvania has been identified as a former ex police chief who had attempted to shield his family from flying bullets.
Corey Comperatore, 50, the retired fire chief of Buffalo Township, was one of dozens sitting behind the former president when a hail of bullets rained down towards Donald Trump as he spoke in front of thousands at a Butler, PA, rally, Saturday early evening.
The man’s death comes at it was revealed the former fire chief and father of two girls was shielding his two daughters and wife from gunfire when the Trump enthusiast was fatally wounded, CNN reported.
Identified as the gunman was Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethal Park, PA who had fired off 8 gunshots some 130 yards away from a manufacturing building rooftop.
The sniper gunman was ‘neutralized’ moments later when sniper secret service agents took down the would be assassin. An AR-15-type semi-automatic rifle was found next to the deceased gunman’s body. The weapon had been legally purchased by the gunman’s father, a Bethal Park, PA, psychologist, Matthew Crooks, 53.
Members of the audience frantically tried to save Comperatore’s life in the bleachers following gunshots ringing out. An emergency room doctor at Donald Trump’s rally performed CPR on Comperatore, after he was hit by a bullet intended for the former president but to no avail.
Paul Hayden, 62, a neighbor of Comperatore’s for about 20 years, described him as an ‘easygoing guy’ whom he got along with despite their political differences.
‘He knew I was a Biden fan, I knew he’s a Trump fan,’ Hayden told NBC News. ‘But we never let that come in between us. We still said ‘hi’ to each other, we still talked to each other. Some people take it to the extreme.’
Brant Dempster, 60, who lived near Comperatore for about 11 years, said he was ‘a patriotic guy’ and very well-respected in the community.
The two other men who were critically injured in the gunfire were named on Sunday afternoon as 57-year-old David Dutch, of New Kensington, a former a Military Veteran and 74-year-old James Copenhaver, of Moon Township. Both are in stable conditions, NBC News reported.
Family members paid tribute Comperatore who was well-known and regarded in the community.
His sister wrote on Facebook: ‘The PA Trump Rally claimed the life of my brother, Corey Comperatore. The hatred for one man took the life of the one man we loved the most. He was a hero who shielded his daughters.’
‘His wife and girls just lived through the unthinkable and unimaginable. 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.’
His daughter Allyson wrote on social media: ‘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,’ she continued in the emotional tribute.
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said Comperatore died a hero as he dove on his family to shield them from the hail of bullets.
He said Comperatore was a self-proclaimed ‘girl dad’ and firefighter.
‘Corey went to church every Sunday for a 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,’ the governor said Sunday.
‘Political disagreements can never, ever be addressed through violence,’ the governor added. ‘Disagreements are OK, but we need to use a peaceful political process to settle those differences.’
Addressing the shooting, President Joe Biden said, ‘There is no place in America for this kind of violence, or any violence.
‘An assassination attempt is contrary to everything we stand for as a nation, everything. It’s not who we are as a nation. It’s not America, and we cannot allow this to happen.’
Thomas Crooks actions continued to defy reasoning, particularly as a registered Republican who had donated to President Biden (a Democrat) in the past. A motive for why the gunman attempted to assassinate the former President continued to remain unknown as the FBI stated there were few clues.
