A volunteer firefighter who died while protecting his family from a gunman who shot former President Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania last weekend said his final words were, “Lie down!” his wife has revealed.
Helen Comperatore told the New York Post that she and her husband, Corey, were approaching their 29th wedding anniversary when they headed with their family to a campaign event in the Pittsburgh suburb of Butler on Saturday.
“He’s my hero,” Helen Comperatore told the newspaper from her home near Thurber, Pennsylvania. “He just said, ‘Get down!’ Those were the last words.”
“My kids and I were there as a whole family,” she added. “He was just excited. It looked like a great day out with the family.”
Trump rally victim Corey Comperatore died shielding family, ‘would do it again,’ friend says
Former Buffalo Township Fire Chief Corey Comperatore is pictured with his daughters in an undated family photo. (Helen Comperatore/Facebook)
Corey Comperatore, 50, is a former fire chief for the Buffalo Township Fire Department, and the department now has a memorial outside the fire station in memory of Comperatore’s uniform. Who did they describe? “As a brother, son, husband, father and friend.”
“He was a simple man, but he always put his wife and kids first. I didn’t do anything here. I didn’t lift a finger. He did it all,” Helen Comperatore told the New York Post after the shooting that wounded Trump and seriously injured two other rally-goers, both of whom are expected to survive.
Helen Comperatore also said that President Biden tried to call her family after the incident, but “I didn’t want to talk to him.”
“I did not speak to Mr. Biden,” she said. “My husband is a staunch Republican and would not have wanted him to speak to me.”
“I have no ill will towards Joe Biden,” Helen Comperatore added. “I’m not a political person. I support Trump and I will vote for him, but I have no ill will towards Biden.”
Family speaks out following Corey Comparatore’s death
A memorial service for volunteer firefighter Corey Comperatore, who was shot and killed at a rally for former President Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday, July 13. (Reuters/Brendan McDiarmid)
Helen Comperatore described the gunman at the rally, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, as a “mean kid.”
On Sunday, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said he had spoken with Helen Comperatore.
“Corey Comperatore was the girl’s father. Corey was a firefighter. Corey attended church every Sunday. Corey loved the community and especially his family,” he said at a press conference. “Corey was a huge supporter of the former president and was very excited to be with him in the community last night.”
President Biden also said Sunday that he and First Lady Jill Biden “extend our deepest condolences to the family of the murdered victim.”
Volunteer firefighter Corey Comperatore (center) is celebrating his 29th wedding anniversary, his wife, Helen, told the New York Post. (Buffalo Township Fire Department/Distributed via Reuters)
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“He was a father. He lost his life trying to protect his family from bullets. God love him,” Biden said.
Fox News’ Michael Dorgan and Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.
