Corey Comperatore and his daughter Allyson (left) from a GoFundMe campaign started by friends, (right) Allyson’s Facebook post about her father.
Family, friends, and Pennsylvania officials have identified a retired fire chief, husband, and father of two daughters as the man who was shot and killed at a rally Saturday in Butler County, Pennsylvania, as a rooftop shooter with a rifle attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump.
Corey Comperatore “died a real-life super hero” protecting his family from 20-year-old shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks, according to Allyson Comperatore, the victim’s daughter.
“Yesterday time stopped. And when it started again my family and I started living a real-life nightmare. What was supposed to be an exciting day that we all looked forward to (ESPECIALLY my dad), turned into the most traumatizing experiences someone could imagine,” Allyson’s post on Facebook began, before revealing details about her father that she said the news media would not cover.
“He was the best dad a girl could ever ask for. My sister and I never needed for anything. You call, he would answer, and he would do whatever it is you needed, and if he didn’t know how he would figure out how,” she said. “He could talk and make friends with anyone, which he was doing all day yesterday and loved every minute of it. He was a man of God, loved Jesus fiercely, and also looked after our church and our members as family.”
Allyson further said that her dad died protecting her and her mom at the rally.
“The media will not tell you that he died a real-life super hero. They are not going to tell you how quick;y 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,” she said. “He loved his family. He truly loved us enough to take a real bullet for us.”
Corey’s sister Dawn Comperatore Schafer said in a separate post that her brother recently turned 50 and that the family is devastated by this “terrible nightmare.”
“The hatred for one man took the life of the one man we loved the most,” she wrote. “He was a hero that 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.”
After the Trump campaign authorized a GoFundMe that has already received well over $1,000,000 in donations for the shooting victims and their families — two other rally attendees remain in critical condition — friends of Allyson Comperatore’s have also started a GoFundMe.
“Saturday night, our friend and family, Allyson, lost her father due to a senseless, tragic act at the Trump Rally in Butler. Allyson has been an athlete with us since the beginning. She’s a huge part of our community. If you’re able to support her and her family during this time, we will have a spot for donations at the gym. Additionally, please take the time to sign the cards at the desk,” wrote Jason Bubb. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the Comperatore family.”
After narrowly escaping the attempt on his life, Trump took to Truth Social to offer condolences to the Comperatore family and everyone else affected.
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents as he is helped off the stage at a campaign rally in Butler, Pa., Saturday, July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
“We will FEAR NOT, but instead remain resilient in our Faith and Defiant in the face of Wickedness. Our love goes out to the other victims and their families,” he said. “We pray for the recovery of those who were wounded, and hold in our hearts the memory of the citizen who was so horribly killed.”
Urging prayers for the two other victims in critical condition, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) said Sunday that now is the time to “take down the temperature” and “rise above the hateful rhetoric that exists” in America.
This is a moment where all of us have a responsibility to take down the temperature, rise above the hateful rhetoric that exists, and search for a better, brighter future for this nation.
I ask that you join Lori and me in prayer for the two Pennsylvanians still in critical… pic.twitter.com/XjYP5QstId
— Governor Josh Shapiro (@GovernorShapiro) July 14, 2024
“I ask that you join Lori and me in prayer for the two Pennsylvanians still in critical condition, for the family of Corey Comperatore, and for former President Donald Trump,” the governor said.
Shapiro’s office additionally announced that flags at all Pennsylvania public buildings and public grounds will be flown at half-staff until sunset on the day Comperatore is buried:
Today, in accordance with the United States flag code, Governor Josh Shapiro ordered United States and Commonwealth flags on all Commonwealth facilities, public buildings, and grounds across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to fly at half-staff immediately today, Sunday, July 14, 2024, to recognize the tragedy that occurred at a rally for former President Trump in Butler County last evening and in honor of Corey Comperatore, a Butler County husband and father who was killed while attending the event. The Governor also extends the prayers of all Pennsylvanians to the two Pennsylvanians who remain in critical condition and their families.
The flags shall be lowered to half-staff until sunset on the date of interment, which has not yet been announced.
All Pennsylvanians are invited to participate in this tribute.
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