Corey Comperatore, Firefighter Killed at Donald Trump Rally, Remembered by Family 1 Year Later: 'The Days Have Been So Long'

The family of the man who was killed during an attempted assassination of Donald Trump revealed how they plan to “continue his legacy” and how the loss has impacted them one year later.

Corey Comperatore, a Buffalo Township firefighter and father of two adult daughters, was fatally shot at the Butler Farm Show grounds in Pennsylvania on July 13, 2024, while attending a campaign rally for Trump, who was one of three other people injured by gunfire.

Comperatore was in attendance alongside his wife and two daughters when he was shot by Thomas Matthew Crooks — the 20-year-old gunman who was eventually killed by a Secret Service counter sniper team.

Now, nearly a year later, Corey’s wife, Helen, and two daughters, Kaylee and Allyson, are reflecting on the family’s loss, their grieving process and how they hope to honor Corey, who was 50 years old when he died.

“I had to learn how to live without my best friend,” Helen told the Butler Eagle of her late husband. “We haven’t been apart in 34 years; [the future’s] a long time to go without your mate. I had to try to figure out how to be a single parent.”

His eldest daughter, Allyson, added, “I just feel like the days have been so long, but yet, here we are. It’s just about a year later, and it’s hard to grasp that amount of time has actually gone by.”

Helen also told the Eagle that she and Trump, 79, keep in touch.

“He wrote in [a letter], he said, ‘I want you to know that our families are bonded for life,’ ” Helen recalled. “I couldn’t believe I was getting a letter from the president.”

As part of the anniversary of Corey’s death, his family has organized what they’re calling “Corey’s Cruise” alongside other community members. The event will be a nearly 50-mile motorcycle ride and celebration in the municipality of West Deer Township, according to ABC affiliate WTAE. The daughters called it an opportunity to “continue his legacy.”

Kaylee told the outlet that organizing “Corey’s Cruise” gave her and her sister “purpose,” as they met weekly to set things up. It’ll feature fireworks and live music, with the family leading the ride in the same car their dad had as a teen: a Ford Mustang convertible.

“It’s bittersweet,” Kaylee said. “Of course, I wish my dad was here and we didn’t have to do any of this. But the fact that the world knows my dad’s name and they care so much about him and the sacrifice he made for our family, our country, and everything he did … It means the world that people know my dad’s name and want to come celebrate him.”

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Speaking with Fox News, Helen said she was still “right at the beginning” of her healing journey and that the family hasn’t “healed that much.” She called the shooting a “Secret Service error” and said “they failed my husband miserably.”

“I want to sit down with the secret service and I want them to tell me everything that happened that day,” Helen said. “I want to know why they failed. I want to know what happened, why Butler, why was that such a failure that day? What was the reason?”

Helen remembered Corey as “a wonderful human” and the “best” dad and husband, who would “help anybody.”

Funds raised by the event will benefit local first responders, Corey’s church and a Dobermann rescue organization, according to WTAE.