A former Pennsylvania volunteer fire chief has been identified as the victim killed by the sniper who shot and wounded former President Donald Trump.
Corey Comperatore, 50, who served as Buffalo Township’s fire chief, was shot and killed by Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, at the rally on Sunday where former President Trump and two others were injured. Local WPXI Reports.
Comperatore’s sister, Dawn Comperatore Schafer, said her brother died trying to protect his daughter when gunfire rang out while Trump was speaking.
“Hatred towards one man took the life of the man we loved most. He was a hero who protected his daughters,” she wrote on Facebook.
“His wife and daughters survived the unthinkable, the unimaginable,” she added.
Comperatore’s daughter Allison mourned her father’s sudden death, calling him “the best dad a girl could ask for.”
Allison said that when shots rang out, Comperatore quickly threw Trump to the ground to protect her and her mother after he was shot.
“He loved us so much that he would have taken an actual bullet for us,” Allison wrote on Facebook.
“And I just want to cry and thank him.”
Comperatore’s wife, Helen, echoed her daughter’s words, calling the former fire chief a “real-life superhero” who protected them.
“yesterday, [was meant to] “What should have been a very exciting day, especially for my husband, has turned into a nightmare for our family,” Helen wrote on Facebook.
“What my precious daughters had to witness is unforgivable,” she added. “He died the hero he always was.”
A GoFundMe page in support of Helen and Alison had already raised more than $27,000 as of midday Sunday.
Officials said Crooks was stationed on a rooftop near Trump’s rally and fired multiple shots at the former president and crowd before being shot and killed by a Secret Service sniper.
An AR-type rifle was found at the scene, with records indicating the gun had been purchased by the gunman’s father.
Authorities have not released a motive for the shooting.
