Those passing through the rural village of Cabot on Friday morning might have thought there was a parade. Crowds adorned in patriotic attire sat in lawn chairs lining the streets, waving American flags and cheering at the dozens of bright, red fire trucks that sounded through the streets.
It was a procession, not a parade. And, one of those trucks held the casket of Corey Comperatore, 50, the father and retired fire chief who was shot and killed July 13 at a rally for Donald Trump.
Ahead of the procession, mourners dressed in black were escorted by police officers to a service at the Cabot Methodist Church on Winfield Road to bid a final goodbye to Comperatore, who was gunned down at the Butler Farm Show Fairgrounds. Next to the church, a towering American flag hung from a fire truck ladder.
Although the service was private — reporters were not permitted inside — many locals were huddled outside the church, holding hands and tearfully embracing.
Ron Jancosko, 72, said that the flag, waving in the wind, was the first thing he saw when he woke up that morning. Jancosko owns a 40-acre farm down the road, and he can see the church from his bedroom windows. When he saw it, he knew it was for Comperatore. And, he knew he should come to pay his respects, even from the outside of the church.
“Like most small farm areas, the houses might be far apart but the people are very close together,” he said. “If you don’t know [Comperatore] you know somebody who knows him.”
Driving through Cabot, it’s evident that’s the case. Signs were plastered in nearly every storefront window that read “God Bless our brother Corey” or “Thoughts and prayers with Corey.”
Comperatore was shot when Thomas Crooks, 20, tried to assassinate Trump. Also injured were David Dutch, 57, of Plum, and James Copenhaver, 74, of Moon. Both wounded men are recovering at Allegheny General Hospital on the North Side.
Their conditions were upgraded Wednesday from critical to serious. Crooks was fatally shot by a Secret Service agent.
Comperatore’s wife, Helen, and two daughters, Allyson and Kaylee, wrote on Sunday in social media posts that he sacrificed his life to protect them.
Now, many throughout the community — and the nation — hail Comperatore as a hero and a true patriot.
Brian Frantz, too, indirectly knew Comperatore — he said his cousin served as a volunteer firefighter with him. Frantz, 38, said that outside of his final, heroic act, Comperatore always positively impacted the community.
“[Comperatore] was a family man — everybody has nothing but nice things to say about [him],” he said outside of his house, which sits across the street from the church.
The crowds on Friday weren’t the only ones to pay respects to Comperatore. On Thursday night, Trump requested a moment of silence for Comperatore during his speech at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
“He was incredible, he was a highly respected former fire chief, respected by everybody,” Trump said during his speech at the RNC.
Buffalo Township officials said earlier in the week that a member of the Trump family would attend either the viewing services on Thursday or the funeral on Friday for Comperatore. It’s not clear whether they were in attendance for either event.
The procession featured first responder vehicles and firetrucks from across the commonwealth — Buffalo Township, West Deer Fire, Harrison Hills, Saxonburg, and more. Community members waved, some of them still comprehending that their tiny town has been thrust into the spotlight over a senseless act of violence.
“It’s sad knowing that it’s somebody local…changed his life, his family’s life forever,” said Denny Krajacic, 70, of Cabot. “Certainly this community never expected anything like this.”
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