On Sunday, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro confirmed that the man who was fatally shot at former President Trump’s rally was a former volunteer fire chief, praising him as having made a “heroic sacrifice” to protect his family.
Shapiro stated that the man killed at the Butler, Pennsylvania rally on Saturday evening was identified as Corey Comperatore, a former fire chief of the Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Department in Butler County, aged 50, and a father of two daughters.
“I just spoke with Corey’s wife and two daughters,” Shapiro said. “Corey was a good father. Corey was a firefighter. Corey went to church every Sunday. Corey loved his community. Especially, Corey loved his family.”
Shapiro mentioned that he sought permission from Comperatore’s wife to share the details of their conversation with the public and added, “She also wanted me to tell everyone that Corey died heroically.”
“At last night’s rally, Corey threw himself over his family to protect them,” Shapiro said, and directed for flags in the area to be lowered to half-mast in honor of Comperatore.
Eyewitnesses at the rally reported that one victim was shot in the head, presumably Comperatore, while two other attendees were critically injured.
The victim’s sister, Dawn Comperatore Schafer, posted on Facebook, describing Corey as “a hero protecting his daughters,” and shared a recent photo of the family celebrating Corey’s 50th birthday.
Another family member, Allyson Comperatore, also expressed condolences on Facebook, believed to be the daughter of the victim.
“He was the best father a girl could ask for,” Allyson wrote, sharing several photos of the victim before his passing, including one with a birthday cake.
Allyson revealed that Comperatore shielded her and her mother from bullets by throwing himself on top of them.
“He loved his family. He really loved us, loved us enough to take a bullet for us,” Allyson continued.
A fundraising page dedicated to Comperatore’s family was set up on the for-profit crowdfunding platform GoFundMe, raising nearly $80,000 in less than a day.