Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
(TNS)
Jul. 14—In Corey Comperatore's final moment, he did what came naturally to the father of two daughters:
He protected his family. With his own life.
"He shielded my body from the bullet that came at us," one daughter, Allyson Comperatore, wrote in a social media post. "He loved his family. He truly loved us enough to take a real bullet for us."
Mr. Comperatore was shot and killed Saturday at a rally for former President Donald Trump. Two other spectators were wounded: David Dutch, 57, of New Kensington, and James Copenhaver, 74, of Moon. They were in stable condition Sunday at Allegheny General Hospital on Pittsburgh's North Side, police said.
"He was the best dad a girl could ever ask for," his daughter wrote, adding that Mr. Comperatore was a "real-life superhero."
Flags statewide will be flown at half-staff to honor Mr. Comperatore, Gov. Josh Shapiro said Sunday.
"Corey was a girl-dad. Corey was a firefighter. Corey went to church every Sunday," the governor said at a press conference in Butler. "He was so excited last night to be there with [Trump] and the community."
He said he spoke to Mr. Comperatore's wife and that she wanted people to know that her husband died valiantly.
"Corey dove on his family to protect them," Mr. Shapiro said.
Mr. Comperatore was a former chief of the Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Company. A spokesperson for the fire company wrote on Facebook Sunday that he died in a "senseless act of violence."
"Corey was a lifetime volunteer firefighter within our company and will be greatly missed by all who knew him.
"Corey, rest easy brother and we will take it from here."
Buffalo Township Supervisor Michael Oehling added in an email to the Post-Gazette that Mr. Comperatore was "an amazing man."
In separate social media posts, Mr. Comperatore's family mourned his killing.
His wife said he "died the hero he always was."
"Yesterday, what turned out to be such an exciting day for my husband especially, turned into a nightmare for our family," Ms. Comperatore posted Sunday on Facebook. "What my precious girls had to witness is unforgivable. What I had to was [also unforgiveable]."
Trump was about 10 minutes into his speech at the Butler Farm Show grounds about 6:15 p.m. when gunfire erupted and he was rushed off the stage. The former president, who had a bloody face, later said in statements online that a bullet had pierced his right ear, but that he was "fine."
Thousands of supporters had been waiting for the candidate's appearance, in advance of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this week.
Mr. Comperatore's big sister, Dawn Comperatore, said on Facebook that "the hatred for one man took the life of the one man we loved the most."
"His wife and girls just lived through the unthinkable and unimaginable," she 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."
Mr. Shapiro, during his press conference, asked for prayers for the Comperatore family and those of the two other injured spectators.
Steven Warheit, who referred to Mr. Comperatore as a brother on Facebook, posted that he is "without words." He said the two would skip school together as kids to hunt and fish. He called their memories "endless."
" Corey Comperatore was a great man that loved his family fiercely and did the same with God," he wrote. "A true heart of gold."
Others also used social media platforms Sunday to honor Mr. Comperatore.
"He was a firefighter. Why am I not surprised his instinct was to put his own body in harm's way?" wrote Bob Bellafiore, a political communications strategist in a post on social media site X.
After Mr. Comperatore's name was released, dozens of first responder agencies and fire departments from across the country took to social media to express their support, many of them pledging to attend the funeral for the fallen firefighter.
"Many prayers from your sisters and brothers in Inver Grove Heights, MN in the senseless loss of Chief Comperatore," a spokesperson for Inver Grove Heights Fire posted.
"The Brothers from Jacksonville FL wishing you Peace and Prayers during this time. ... We're getting a group up to pay our respects," firefighter Jason Kerr wrote.
Mr. Comperatore was an engineer at JSP International in Butler, according to his LinkedIn profile.
FBI Pittsburgh Special Agent in Charge Kevin Rojek offered "sincere condolences to the family of Comperatore, who was a spectator and was killed at the scene as well as the other victims' families."
A GoFundMe to support the Comperatore family was set up Sunday had raised about $670,000 as of Sunday evening, skyrocketing far above the goal of $7,000.
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