Trump honors man killed during assassination attempt
Former President Trump remembers Corey Comperatore at the Republican National Convention with a moment of silence.
Former President Trump assassination attempt victim Corey Comperatore's wife and daughters sat down for their first formal interview since Comperatore was fatally shot at the former president's Butler, Pennsylvania, rally on July 13.
Comperatore, a 50-year-old retired volunteer fire chief, was the only victim of the assassination attempt against the former president to die of his injuries.
"He definitely was a hero. He saved his wife. He saved his child, and he was just the best guy," Comperatore's wife of 29 years, Helen Comperatore, told WTAE.
Helen added that her husband was a "wonderful man," and she wants the world to remember him for who he was, not just "as the man that was shot at the rally."
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Former Buffalo Township Fire Chief Corey Comperatore pictured with his daughters in an undated family photo. (Helen Comperatore/Facebook)
"Just remember Corey as he was — a great man who was a great father, great husband."
His daughter Kaylee reflected on security failures at the rally that led to her father's death.
"[B]lood is on their hands."
"I just want [security] to know I really think my dad's blood is on their hands," she told WTAE, "and I hope they wake up every day thinking about what they took from our family, because we have to wake up every day and see that image of our father in our head, and no child should ever have to see that."
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Volunteer firefighter Corey Comperatore, center, an attendee killed during gunfire at a campaign rally of Republican presidential candidate former President Trump, is seen in this undated Buffalo Township Fire Company 27 handout photo. (Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Dept/Handout via REUTERS)
Comperatore's other daughter, Allyson, remembered the moment her father used his body to shield hers from gunfire.
"I was the one that my dad threw down. As he was throwing me down, that was when he was shot, and he ended up falling on to me," she said. "And I don't remember hearing any other shots … In that moment, I was trying to take care of him. I was really confused when he was on me.
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Volunteer firefighter Corey Comperatore, center, an attendee killed during gunfire at a campaign rally of Republican presidential candidate former President Trump, is seen in this undated Buffalo Township Fire Company 27 handout photo. (Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Dept/Handout via REUTERS)
"I had turned around, I went, 'Dad' — he fell down, and that's when I started screaming, and I was trying to keep him from bleeding," she continued.
Kaylee also remembered screaming and initially thinking she was in a dream.
A memorial for volunteer firefighter Corey Comperatore, an attendee killed during gunfire at a campaign rally of Republican presidential candidate former President Trump, is displayed at the Buffalo Township Fire Company 27 in Buffalo Township, Pennsylvania, July 14, 2024. (REUTERS/Brendan McDermid)
"And then you realize it's not a dream, and you feel like your whole world is just over," she said.
Comperatore served 10 years in the U.S. Army Reserve, according to his obituary. He loved to go fishing every weekend, rain or shine, and he loved his family, Helen told WTAE.
A statue in front of Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Company, Sarver, Pennsylvania, Sunday, July 28, 2024. The statue is surrounded by flowers and flags in honor of Fire Chief Corey Comperatore, who was shot and killed at a former President Trump rally in Butler on July 13. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
Trump commemorated the fallen firefighter at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, a week after the assassination attempt, with Comperatore's firefighter jacket and helmet displayed on stage.
Helen told WTAE Trump's tribute to her husband at the RNC "was a big honor."
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Republican presidential nominee former President Trump touches the turnout coat of former Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Department chief Corey Comperatore on Day 4 of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on Thursday, July 18, 2024. (REUTERS/Jeenah Moon)
"All day at the rally, my husband kept saying, 'He's gonna call me up on stage. You're gonna hear him. He's gonna say Corey, get on up here!' He was just joking, obviously," she explained.
When Trump paid tribute to Comperatore on stage, his family thought, "There's his moment. He's up on stage," Helen said.
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The Comperatore family has hired counsel to help them get justice for their beloved husband and father.
"I want justice for my husband, and I'm going to get it," Helen said.
