Tribute to former Buffalo Twp., Pa., fire chief killed at Trump rally

Laura Esposito

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

(TNS)

July 14 — In his final moment, Corey Comperatore did what was natural for the father of two daughters:

He protected his family, at the risk of his life.

“He protected my body from the bullet that hit us,” one of his daughters, 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 Saturday at a rally for former President Donald Trump. Two other attendees were wounded: David Dutch, 57, of New Kensington, and James Copenhaver, 74, of Moon. They were in stable condition Sunday at Allegheny General Hospital in north Pittsburgh, police said.

“He was the best father a girl could ask for,” his daughter wrote, adding that Mr. Comperatore was a “real-life superhero.”

Flags across the state will be lowered to half-staff to honor Mr. Comperatore, Gov. Josh Shapiro said Sunday.

“Corey was a father of a daughter. Corey was a firefighter. Corey went to church every Sunday,” the governor said at a news conference in Butler. “He was so excited last night to be there with (Trump) and the community.”

He said he had spoken to Mr Comperatore’s wife and she wanted people to know her husband had died bravely.

“Corey threw himself at his family to protect them,” Shapiro said.

Mr. Comperatore was a former chief of the Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Department. A spokesman for the fire department wrote on Facebook Sunday that he died in a “senseless act of violence.”

“Corey was a lifelong volunteer firefighter with our company and will be greatly missed by all who knew him.

“Corey, rest well, brother, we’ll take care of this from now on.”

Buffalo Township Supervisor Michael Oehling added in an email to the Post-Gazette that Comperatore was “an incredible 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 in particular, turned into a nightmare for our family,” Ms. Comperatore wrote on Facebook Sunday. “What my precious girls had to see was unforgivable. What I had to see was (equally unforgivable).”

Trump had been speaking at the Butler Farm Show for about 10 minutes, around 6:15 p.m., when gunfire erupted and he was rushed off stage. The former president, whose face was covered in blood, later said in online statements that a bullet had pierced his right ear but that he was “fine.”

Thousands of supporters awaited the candidate’s appearance ahead of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this week.

Mr Comperatore’s older sister, Dawn Comperatore, said on Facebook that “hatred for one man cost the life of the man we loved most.”

“His wife and daughters have just experienced the unthinkable and unimaginable,” she wrote. “My little brother just turned 50 and he still has so much more to live for.

“Hate has no limits and love has no limits. Please pray for my sister-in-law, my nieces, my mother, my sister, me and her nieces and nephews because this seems like a terrible nightmare, but we know it is our painful reality.”

Mr. Shapiro, at his news conference, asked for prayers for the Comperatore family and those of the two other injured spectators.

Steven Warheit, who called Mr. Comperatore a brother on Facebook, said he was “speechless.” He said the two children would skip school together to hunt and fish. He called their memories “endless.”

“Corey Comperatore was a great man who loved his family dearly and did the same with God,” he wrote. “A true heart of gold.”

Others also took to social media platforms on Sunday to honor Mr. Comperatore.

“He was a firefighter. Why am I not surprised that his instincts led him to put his own body on the line?” wrote Bob Bellafiore, a political communications strategist, in a post on the 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 pledging to attend the fallen firefighter’s funeral.

“Many prayers from your sisters and brothers in Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota on the senseless loss of Chief Comperatore,” a spokesperson for Inver Grove Heights Fire posted.

“The brothers of Jacksonville FL wish you peace and prayers during this time. … We are gathering a group to pay our respects,” wrote firefighter Jason Kerr.

Mr. Comperatore was an engineer at JSP International in Butler, according to his LinkedIn profile.

FBI Pittsburgh Special Agent Kevin Rojek offered his “sincere condolences to the family of Comperatore, who was a spectator and killed at the scene, and to the families of the other victims.”

A GoFundMe campaign was created Sunday to support the Comperatore family and had raised about $670,000 as of Sunday evening, far exceeding the $7,000 goal.

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