Pennsylvania to honour rally shooter’s victim Corey Comperatore
Pennsylvania will mark respect for the fatally shot spectator at the Trump rally, Corey Comperatore, described as ‘a super hero’ who died protecting his wife and a daughter.
The spectator who died in the shooting that targeted Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania rally, Corey Comperatore, was a 50-year-old firefighter and father of two.
“We lost a fellow Pennsylvanian last night, Corey Comperatore,” the state’s Governor, Josh Shapiro, said.
“I just spoke to his wife and his two daughters.”
He said the victim was a churchgoing firefighter and an enthusiastic Trump supporter who “loved his community and most especially … his family’’.
Mr Shapiro called Saturday’s shooting, in which two other spectators were wounded, “shocking, for this Commonwealth (state) and the country”.
US President Joe Biden praised Mr Comperatore, saying he “was protecting his family from the bullets”.
Pennsylvania state police identified the other two victims in the shooting as 57-year-old David Dutch of New Kensington, Pennsylvania, and 74-year-old James Copenhaver of Moon Township, Pennsylvania. Both were in a stable condition in hospital.
The shooter, identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of nearby Bethel Park, was killed by a Secret Service sniper.
One of Mr Comperatore’s daughters, Allyson, described her father in a Facebook post as “the best dad a girl could ever ask for”, someone always ready to help and quick to “make friends with anyone.”
She said “the media will not tell you that he died a real-life super hero. He threw my mom and I to the ground … (and) shielded my body from the bullet that came at us.”
Comperatore’s sister, Dawn Comperatore Schafer, said in a post on Facebook that her “baby brother … had so much life left to experience”.
“Hatred has no limits and love has no bounds,” Ms Comperatore Schafer said.
“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 Comperatore’s wife Helen also posted on Facebook, saying: “What my precious girls had to witness is unforgivable. What I had to was.”
Mr Shapiro also described Mr Comperatore as “a hero” who died protecting his family. He said state flags would be flown at half-mast to honour the victim.
“Corey was an avid supporter of the former president,” Mr Shapiro added, “and was so excited to be there last night.”
A GoFundMe page created to raise money for the Comperatore family had received donations of nearly $US330,000 ($487,000) as of 3pm on Sunday.
AFP
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