A person from the audience was killed as he used his body to shield a family during the attempted assassination of former US President Donald Trump on Saturday, said the authorities. Corey Comperatore, a 50-year-old volunteer fire chief had dived into family members as the gunman opened fire.
His quick decision to use his body as a shield against bullets flying towards his wife and daughter rang true to the close friends and neighbours who loved and respected the Butler County resident noting him as a "man of conviction".
“Corey died a hero,” Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said at a news conference on Sunday, reported BBC.
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According to the Pennsylvania state police, the other two people who were injured in the shooting were David Dutch, 57 and James Copenhaver, 74 and both were in stable condition, as per the BBC report.
Shapiro said he spoke to Comperatore’s wife and two daughters. “Corey went to church every Sunday,” he said. “Cory loved his community. Most especially, Corey loved his family.”
“He’s a literal hero. He shoved his family out of the way, and he got killed for them,” said one of his neighbours, Mike Morehouse, who lived next to Comepratore for the last eight years, reported the Associated Press.
Comperatore was an avid supporter of Donald Trump and was excited to be at the Saturday rally, said the Pennsylvania governor.
“Corey was the very best of us. May his memory be a blessing,” Shapiro said. “Last night was shocking… political disagreements can never, ever be addressed through violence.”
As support poured in for Comperatore’s family, US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden also extended their "deepest condolences".
Besides Comperatore's volunteer firefighting work, he was employed as a project and tooling engineer at a plastics manufacturing company, according to his social media profiles, reported BBC.