FREEPORT, Pa. (AP) — Thousands of mourners paid their respects at a Pennsylvania banquet hall Thursday to the family of a former fire chief who was shot and…
Thousands of mourners paid their respects at a Pennsylvania banquet hall Thursday to the family of a former fire chief who was shot and killed during the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.
Trump sent a note of condolence hailing Corey Comperatore as a hero, a copy of which was displayed at the visitation. He did not attend the memorial, which was the second of two public events memorializing and celebrating Comperatore’s life. Hundreds of people gathered Wednesday at a vigil for him at an auto racing track.
A private funeral is scheduled for Friday. Trump is not going to the funeral because of Secret Service concerns, according to a source familiar who was not authorized to speak publicly.
The crowd on Thursday appeared to be a mix of friends, neighbors and strangers who wanted to show their appreciation for the man who officials said spent his final moments shielding his wife and daughter from gunfire at the campaign rally.
Fire trucks and police vehicles filled the parking lot outside the building. Sharpshooters were positioned on top of the event hall and on nearby buildings as people including firefighters in dress uniforms, waited in line to enter.
Comperatore, 50, worked as a project and tooling engineer, was an Army reservist and spent many years as a volunteer firefighter after serving as chief, according to his obituary.
Trump suffered an ear injury but was not seriously hurt and has been participating this week in the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
Trump honored Comperatore during his speech Thursday night accepting the party’s presidential nomination, displaying his firefighting gear on the convention stage, kissing his helmet and heralding the ex-chief as “an unbelievable person.”
Trump said a fund for Comperatore’s family and the two men wounded in the attack has raised more than $6 million.
Mourners filled Laube Hall, a space with white brick walls, white linens, white curtains and exposed wooden beams that’s normally used for weddings and other celebratory occasions.
