Corey Comperatore, a firefighter who was shot and killed during an attempted assassination during last weekend’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, was honored by former President Donald Trump during his speech at the Republican National Convention on Thursday night.
“Tragically the shooter claimed the life of one of our fellow Americans, Corey Comperatore, unbelievable person, everybody tells me,” Trump stated.
Trump was accompanied on stage by Comperatore’s firefighter’s jacket and helmet. Trump approached the helmet, gave it a kiss, and then asked the convention attendees to observe a moment of quiet.
The 20-year-old shooter opened fire from the roof of a building several hundred feet away from the stage where Trump was speaking on Saturday while the 50-year-old Comperatore and his family were watching the Trump rally.
Josh Shapiro, the governor of Pennsylvania, had earlier told reporters that Comperatore “dove on his family to protect them,” referring to him as a “hero,” a feeling that Trump also shared.
“He was incredible, he was a highly respected former fire chief,” Trump stated. “…He lost his life selflessly acting as a human shield to protect them from flying bullets. He went right over the top of them and was hit. What a fine man he was.”
Trump claimed that a bullet had perforated his right ear, and two other guests, 57-year-old David Dutch and 74-year-old James Copenhaver, were badly hurt but survived.
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“I heard a loud whizzing sound and felt something hit me, really hard, on my right ear,” Trump stated on Thursday. “I said to myself, ‘Wow, what was that, it can only be a bullet.’ And moved my right hand to my ear, brought it down, and my hand was covered with blood.”
Comperatore departed with two daughters and his wife. Comperatore was referred to by his family in a statement on Thursday as a “beloved father and husband, and a friend to so many throughout the Butler region.”
Comperatore was the fire chief of the Buffalo Township Fire Company, according to Pennsylvania State Representative Marci Mustello, who called him a “true American hero” and a “devoted public servant.”
According to Trump, the families of the three shooting victims had received more than $6 million in donations.
