- The victim of the shooting at Donald Trump’s Pennsylvania campaign rally is Corey Comperatore.
- Comperatore’s family members paid tribute to him with social media posts on Sunday.
- His sister said Comperatore shielded his daughters from gunfire.
The victim of the shooting at former President Donald Trump’s Pennsylvania rally has been identified as a loving father and husband who protected his family from gunfire.
Corey Comperatore, 50, was killed while he shielded his wife and daughters, his family said, calling “this terrible nightmare … our painful reality.”
“The PA Trump Rally claimed the life of my brother, Corey Comperatore. 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,” Dawn Comperatore Schafer posted on Facebook. “My baby brother just turned 50 and had so much life left to experience. Hatred has no limits and love has no bounds.”
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said he ordered flags to be flown at half-staff in memory of Comperatore, whose wife called him a “girl dad” in a conversation with the governor.
“Corey went to church every Sunday. Corey loved his community and most especially, Corey loved his family. Corey was an avid supporter of the former president and was so excited to be there last night with him in the community,” Shapiro said at a press conference. “Corey dove on his family to protect them last night at this rally. Corey was the very best of us. May his memory be a blessing.”
Comperatore was the former chief of the Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Company, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Photos and videos showed the disturbing moment that gunfire erupted during the Butler, Pennslyvania, rally as Trump addressed his audience.
The FBI identified a 20-year-old from nearby Bethel Park as the shooting suspect. The suspect was killed by the Secret Service.
Trump later said he was shot in his right ear, and two other rallygoers were critically injured. The FBI is investigating the incident as an assassination attempt.