Corey Comperatore: Volunteer firefighter killed at Trump rally dived to protect family

One man in the audience died while trying to protect his family during the attempted assassination of Donald Trump on Saturday, authorities say.

Corey Comperatore, a 50-year-old volunteer fire chief, dove onto family members when the shots rang out.

“Corey died a hero,” Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said at a news conference on Sunday.

Pennsylvania state police said the other two people shot were 57-year-old David Dutch and 74-year-old James Copenhaver. Both were in a stable condition on Sunday.

The Pennsylvania governor said that he spoke to Mr Comperatore’s wife and two daughters.

“Corey went to church every Sunday,” he said. “Corey loved his community. Most especially, Corey loved his family.”

He said that Mr Comperatore was an avid supporter of Donald Trump and was excited to be at the rally Saturday.

“Corey was the very best of us. May his memory be a blessing,” Mr Shapiro said. “Last night was shocking… political disagreements can never, ever be addressed through violence.”

Mr Comperatore's daughter Allyson described him as "the best dad a girl could ever ask for" and said he had "died a real-life superhero".

"He threw my mom and I to the ground... [and] shielded my body from the bullet that came at us," she wrote on Facebook.

His wife, Helen Comperatore, added: "What my precious girls had to witness is unforgiveable."

A GoFundMe set up for the family has raised over $830,000.

State police said that Mr Comperatore lived in Sarver, about 12 miles (19km) away from the rally site in Butler, outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The crowd reacts after shots rang out at a Donald Trump rally Saturday

Firefighters at Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Company in Butler held a memorial for Mr Comperatore where his gear was draped in black and displayed.

Craig Cirrincione, a firefighter attending the memorial, said: "He's a great man that deserves honour and respect in the highest of high.

"He wouldn't want us to sit here and be sad... He would want us to share the good times and think of him."

Randy Reamer, president of the fire company, said Mr Comperatore was a "stand-up guy" and "a true brother of the fire service".

"He definitely stood up for what he believed in, never backed down to anyone," he said.

In addition to his volunteer firefighting work, Mr Comperatore was employed as a project and tooling engineer at a plastics manufacturing company, according to his social media profiles.

“He was a good person,” neighbour Matt Achilles told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “We might not have agreed on the same political views, but that didn’t stop him from being a good friend and neighbour.”

“He donated money to us when I was in the hospital and he would always come by at our yard sales. He always waved hello when I drove past his house,” Mr Achilles said.

Paul Hayden, 62, a neighbour of Mr Comperatore's for 20 years, described him as an "easy-going guy" and said political differences did not get in the way of their friendship.

“He knew I was a Biden fan, I knew he [was] a Trump fan,” Mr Hayden told NBC News. “But we never let that come in between us. We still said ‘hi’ to each other, we still talked to each other. Some people take it to the extreme.”

Mr Shapiro said also he spoke to the family of one of those injured, but declined to give details about the conversation.

A bullet, one of the six to eight shots that were fired at the rally, grazed the ear of former President Trump.

The gunman, named by authorities as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, was shot dead by Secret Service officers tasked with protecting the former president.