A memorial for volunteer firefighter Corey Comperatore, an attendee who was killed during a campaign rally for Donald Trump on Friday, at the Buffalo Township Fire Company 27 in Buffalo Township, Pa.Brendan McDermid/Reuters
Corey Comperatore was known for being fearless.
The 50-year-old former fire chief from Sarver, Pa., was always the first to run into a burning building, his former colleagues said, and was unfazed when it was once discovered there were grenades inside a house that was on fire.
“You had to fight with him to get into the house first,” said Randy Reamer, president of the Buffalo Township volunteer fire company, where Mr. Comperatore served as chief for three years and volunteered for three decades.
“He would push me all the way to get in there and get the job done and get back on the truck and go home.”
This undated photo provided by the Buffalo Township, Pa., Volunteer Fire Company shows former Buffalo Township Fire Chief Corey Comperatore.Jessie Wardarski/The Associated Press
Mr. Comperatore, who colleagues said also worked as maintenance manager, was in the military early in his career. The desire to serve came naturally, friends said. And with it, the drive to protect, which his family credits with saving their lives.
Mr. Comperatore was killed Saturday at a shooting at a rally for former president Donald Trump in Butler, Pa. As bullets began flying, he reportedly dove on top of his wife and two daughters, sparing their lives as his was taken. Above all, his colleagues said, he loved his family.
Pennsylvania State Police also identified two other shooting victims from Saturday’s rally, both of whom are now listed in stable condition. The names are David Dutch, 57, of New Kensington, Pa., and 74-year-old James Copenhaver, of Moon Township, Pa.
Speaking to reporters outside of the Butler police department on Sunday, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said Mr. Comperatore was an “avid supporter” of Mr. Trump who was “so excited” to attend the event.
“Corey died a hero. Corey dove on his family to protect them last night at this rally,” Mr. Shapiro said Sunday. “Corey was the very best of us.”
Mr. Shapiro called the events at the rally “shocking” and said violence is never acceptable.
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“Political disagreements can never, ever be addressed through political violence,” he said. “We need to use a peaceful political process to settle those differences.”
In his address to the nation Sunday night, U.S. President Joe Biden extended his deepest condolences to Mr. Comperatore’s family.
”Corey was a husband, a father, a volunteer firefighter, a hero, sheltering his family from those bullets. We should all hold his family, and all those injured, in our prayers,” Mr. Biden said.
A GoFundMe campaign launched for the victims – Trump fundraiser Meredith O’Rourke is identified as the organizer – raised nearly US$3-million by Sunday afternoon. Names such as musician Kid Rock and Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White were listed as donating $50,000 each.
Corey Comperatore, 50, died in a shooting at former U.S. President Donald Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania on July 13. As seen in a Facebook post by Dawn Comperatore Schafer, who identified herself as Mr. Comperatore’s sister.Facebook
In a Facebook post, Dawn Comperatore Schafer, who identified herself as Mr. Comperatore’s sister, said her brother had just turned 50 “and had so much life left to experience.”
“The hatred for one man took the life of the one man we loved the most. He was a hero that shielded his daughters. His wife and girls just lived through the unthinkable and unimaginable,” Ms. Schafer wrote.
Allyson Comperatore, who identified herself as Mr. Comperatore’s daughter, said in a Facebook post that her father died “a real-life super hero” who threw her and her mother to the ground at the rally and shielded her body from a bullet.
“He loved his family. He truly loved us enough to take a real bullet for us. And I want nothing more than to cry on him and tell him thank you. I want nothing more than to wake up and for this to not be reality for me and my family,” she wrote.
Mr. Reamer, his long-time firefighting colleague, said Mr. Comperatore, who also had two dogs, drew people to him and could take over a room, referring to him as “the honorary guest at your birthday party.” Fire Chief Kip Johnston said while it was known Mr. Comperatore was interested in politics, he never pushed it on others. He called his friend’s death “heartbreaking.”
“Your heart stops because he was a big part of this place,” Mr. Johnston said.
At the fire station in Sarver, Mr. Reamer recalled a framed photograph of Mr. Comperatore from the front page of the local newspaper that showed him with his mask on.
“You could see the reflection of the fire in his mask but you could see past that. And you could see in his eyes he was 100-per-cent business: Let’s go get this, let’s get it done,” he said. “That was Corey to a tee. That was him.”
A flag flies at half-mast at the firehall where Corey Comperatore was once a fire chief, in Buffalo Township, Pa. on Sunday.Cole Burston/The Globe and Mail