Former President Trump assassination attempt victim Corey Comperatore's wife and daughters sat down for their first formal interview since Comperatore was fatally shot at the former president's Butler, Pennsylvania, rally on July 13.
Comperatore, a 50-year-old retired volunteer fire chief, was the only victim of the assassination attempt against the former president to die of his injuries.
"He definitely was a hero. He saved his wife. He saved his child, and he was just the best guy," Comperatore's wife of 29 years, Helen Comperatore, told WTAE.
Helen added that her husband was a "wonderful man," and she wants the world to remember him for who he was, not just "as the man that was shot at the rally."
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"Just remember Corey as he was — a great man who was a great father, great husband."
His daughter Kaylee reflected on security failures at the rally that led to her father's death.
"I just want [security] to know I really think my dad's blood is on their hands," she told WTAE, "and I hope they wake up every day thinking about what they took from our family, because we have to wake up every day and see that image of our father in our head, and no child should ever have to see that."
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Comperatore's other daughter, Allyson, remembered the moment her father used his body to shield hers from gunfire.
"I was the one that my dad threw down. As he was throwing me down, that was when he was shot, and he ended up falling on to me," she said. "And I don't remember hearing any other shots … In that moment, I was trying to take care of him. I was really confused when he was on me.
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"I had turned around, I went, 'Dad' — he fell down, and that's when I started screaming, and I was trying to keep him from bleeding," she continued.
Kaylee also remembered screaming and initially thinking she was in a dream.
"And then you realize it's not a dream, and you feel like your whole world is just over," she said.
Comperatore served 10 years in the U.S. Army Reserve, according to his obituary. He loved to go fishing every weekend, rain or shine, and he loved his family, Helen told WTAE.
Trump commemorated the fallen firefighter at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, a week after the assassination attempt, with Comperatore's firefighter jacket and helmet displayed on stage.
Helen told WTAE Trump's tribute to her husband at the RNC "was a big honor."
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"All day at the rally, my husband kept saying, 'He's gonna call me up on stage. You're gonna hear him. He's gonna say Corey, get on up here!' He was just joking, obviously," she explained.
When Trump paid tribute to Comperatore on stage, his family thought, "There's his moment. He's up on stage," Helen said.
The Comperatore family has hired counsel to help them get justice for their beloved husband and father.
"I want justice for my husband, and I'm going to get it," Helen said.
