FREEPORT, PA — Thousands of locals, friends and loved ones attended a solemn visitation service Thursday afternoon for Corey Comperatore, the retired volunteer fire chief gunned down in the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump in Pennsylvania.
A sizable contingent of cops, firefighters and other emergency service workers also were on hand for the gathering at Laube Hall in Freeport, Pa., about 30 miles southeast of Butler where the deadly rally was held. There was a heightened security presence, with a pair of snipers in camouflage staked out on a nearby rooftop.
“Corey Comperatore was our beloved father and husband, and a friend to so many throughout the Butler region,” a statement put out by his family reads in part.
“He loved and cared for us, his family.”
The family said they’ve been “finding comfort and peace” from the flood of messages that have come in “from people around the world,” and thanked those who have prayed for the family over the last week.
They kept their distance from reporters, asking for privacy to give them time to “mourn and adjust to the realities of Corey’s unthinkable passing.”
Comperatore, 50, a married father of two, died shielding his wife and daughters from a hail of bullets fired by 20-year-old gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks, who clipped Trump’s ear and critically wounded two other rallygoers when he assaulted the crowd with an AR-style rifle from a rooftop perch.
Jess Hayburn, 48, a former neighbor whose daughters used to play with the Comperatore children, clutched a bouquet of sunflowers as she walked into the service.
“He was a great man. A great father. He was part of the community,” she told The Post.
Those who knew Comperatore invariably mentioned his kindheartedness and generosity.
“He had such a kind heart. He would do anything for anyone,” said his aunt, Alice Ross, 59, who last spoke to Corey about three years ago.
“It’s a shame what happened because it shouldn’t have happened. And I feel bad,” she said, noting that she’s texted with the “heartbroken” family.
“They were really close,” she said before slamming the Secret Service and local cops’ failure to protect the rally crowd from a shooter.
“I feel that security is to blame for this. There should have been more security.”
Scott Dockherty, 68, CEO of CID associates where Corey’s brother Steve works, shared that the tragedy of his passing is magnified by the fact that “Corey and his family weren’t even supposed to be sitting in those seats,” he said.
“They were standing to the left of where Trump was going to talk and someone came up and says, ‘There’s four seats up front, would you like to sit in them? So Corey said, ‘Yes, I would love to do that,’” citing a conversation with Steve.
“So talk about a freak, freak accident. That he wasn’t even supposed to be sitting there and he ends up losing his life,” he said, lamenting on the hostile political climate under which the shooting occurred.
“It’s heartbreaking. A man lost his life because of hatred in this country. It’s terrible….The world has to change and it needs to change fast. It’s sad. The hatred is terrible.”
Also on full display throughout the visitation was Comperatore’s full-throated support and admiration for the former president.
Justin Strycharz, 40, the father of twin 12-year-old girls, said he was there because he identifies with Comperatore as the father of two daughters. He said he hugged Corey’s widow, Helen, and said “I told her my vote will be cast in his honor!”
Trump wasn’t in attendance, but the instantly iconic photo of the ex-president pumping his fist with his face smeared with blood was beaming larger than life on a mobile billboard truck belonging to John Placek, 76, a Vietnam vet who owns Country Pools and Spa in Worthington.
The truck, which was parked outside Laube Hall during the visitation, alternated between the famous Trump photograph, pictures of Corey, and other patriotic imagery.
He said he came out to “honor Corey” and “let the world know we lost a great citizen and a great patriot.”
Asked about the rally shooting, Placek called it “a miracle” that Trump survived the attack.
“I’ve been shot at and hit, and I’ve been shot down in helicopters. And to witness what happened to this president and to only nick him is a miracle,” he said.
“Trump had divine intervention, I believe.”
