The father of two was fatally shot by Trump’s would-be assassin on Saturday.
Sarver, Pa. — Flags fly at half-staff in Buffalo Township, Pennsylvania, where Corey Comperatore served as a volunteer fire chief, before he was killed by President Donald Trump’s would-be assassin at a rally on Saturday. Comperatore’s boots and uniform are now set up on display at the Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Company, memorializing the father-of-two.
Comperatore was with his wife and daughters at Saturday’s rally. He protected his family when shots rang out and was fatally struck by a bullet. The 50-year-old was Saturday’s only casualty, although Pennsylvanians David Dutch, 57, and James Copenhaver, 74, were shot and wounded at the rally. Dutch, a Marine veteran, was shot in the liver and the chest.
Neighbors describe Comperatore as a good friend, and a humble, giving person. Americans, and supporters from around the world, have since rallied to aid the Comperatore family and other victims’ families. Jason Bubb, a friend and personal trainer of Allyson Comperatore’s, Corey’s daughter, started a GoFundMe for the family that raised more than $1 million in one day. A Trump campaign-organized GoFundMe to help the victims of Saturday’s attack has raised more than $4.7 million “for donations to the supporters and families wounded or killed.”
Allyson said on social media that her father was a “a real-life superhero,” who “shielded my body from the bullet that came at us. He loved his family. He truly loved us enough to take a real bullet for us.”
Trump supporters and Pennsylvania locals aren’t the only ones sending well-wishes to Buffalo Township. The volunteer fire department Comperatore worked at in Buffalo Township has fielded calls from Japan and Italy, one official told National Review, all to express support for the victim and his family. Representatives Matt Gaetz (R., Fla) and Jared Moskowitz (D., Fla.) filed a resolution in the House of Representatives on Tuesday to honor the former fire department chief, which seeks to “commemorate his extraordinary bravery and unwavering commitment to public service after he heroically sacrificed his life while shielding his family from gunfire intended for the President Trump,” Gaetz said.
Comperatore was described as a faithful and selfless “girl dad” who was “the very best of us,” Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro said. Eileen Shamanski, whose children played soccer with Comperatore’s, said that his act of bravery was “so typical of him.”
“He was an all around good guy that was always there to lend a hand and support not just his own children but all the other kids who were friends of their girls and on the team,” she told Fox News. “He had a just give it your all attitude, [and] a lot of kids respected him for that, just always being there supporting, giving those pep talks to get them going. It’s going to be a big loss.”
“It was just a sad thing to see, so sad, but I know he would’ve done it again in a heartbeat if it came down to it,” she added.
His wife Helen wanted the world to know that her husband died a hero, she told Shapiro. Dawn Comperatore Schafer, Corey’s sister, said on Facebook that “the hatred for one man took the life of the one man we loved the most.”
“He was a hero that shielded his daughters,” Shafer said. “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.”
A faithful man who attended church every Sunday, Comperatore had two Doberman pinschers, was an engineer, and “was one of them guys you wanted to go into a fire with, cause you knew you were coming back out,” fire company president Randy Reamer said.