National

‘He was our strength’: Family of firefighter killed at Trump rally speaks out

Written by ABC Audio ALL RIGHTS RESERVED on August 16, 2024

(PITTSBURGH) — Helen Comperatore and her daughters are remembering Corey Comperatore, the volunteer fire chief who was killed when he died protecting his family during the gunfire at Donald Trump’s political rally last month in Butler, Pennsylvania.

“He definitely was a hero. He saved his wife, he saved his child and he was just the best guy,” Helen Comperatore, Corey’s surviving wife, told ABC News’ Pittsburgh affiliate WTAE. “He was just the best.”

Corey’s daughter Allyson recalls the moment shots rang out, a memory which she says is still vivid and painful.

“I was the one that my dad threw down,” said Allyson. “That was when he was shot. He ended up falling onto me. I was, like, confused. And I went, “dad?” And when I turned is whenever he fell down.”

“That’s when I started screaming,” Allyson continued. “I was instantly like, I was trying to keep him from bleeding. And somebody had thrown down a towel. So somebody behind us must have seen what was going on, and I was just, I was holding it there and just screaming for anybody to help.”

Helen says she still struggles with what happened that day.

“I’m angry. You know, obviously, my husband took a bullet for [Donald Trump],” Helen said. “That, unfortunately, was the plan that day.”

Corey Comperatore’s family say that they want him to be remembered as more than the person killed in the assassination attempt of the former president.

“He isn’t just the guy that got shot at the rally,” said Corey’s other daughter, Kaylee. “He was a husband, a father, a son, an uncle. And he was the glue to our family. He was our strength. He was everything to us and that is what got taken from this world.”