2 men recount terror of being shot during Trump assassination attempt in Pennsylvania: "It felt like somebody punched me right in the gut"
Nearly one year after the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump in Butler County, Pennsylvania, David Dutch and Jim Copenhaver recounted the terror of being shot during the campaign rally.
On July 13, 2024, Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire at Mr. Trump, striking his ear. Rally attendee Corey Comperatore was killed and Dutch and Copenhaver were injured. Comperatore's family and the two survivors met on Tuesday, sharing how they are bonded by frustration and tragedy since that fateful day at the Butler Farm Show fairgrounds.
Dutch and Copenhaver, in an exclusive interview with KDKA, said they believe it was a miracle they survived.
David Dutch recounts harrowing moments
Dutch, a New Kensington native, was sitting in the bleachers behind Mr. Trump when the gunman opened fire.
"It felt like somebody punched me right in the gut," Dutch said.
Dutch said he did not hear "any shots right away," but he did see shrapnel flying amid the chaos.
"I was just yelling for people to get down and tried getting down the best I could to where I'd be able to get back up. Basically, after shots finished coming, I told my buddy I was hit," Dutch said.
"I knew I wasn't in good shape," he added. "I told my buddy if I don't get out of the bleachers now, I'm not getting out of here."
The 58-year-old man, who has the nickname "Jake," was shot once in the abdomen. The bullet split his liver and he has bullet fragments in his abdomen that cannot be removed.
"There wasn't much pain 'cause everything was numb," he said. "There was no nerve feeling at all. But as that comes back, it's like being wrapped in needles or pins. It's like you are constantly being poked with pins and needles."
The U.S. Marine veteran who served in the Gulf War was released from the hospital 11 days after the shooting. He may never be able to go back to work.
"I think God wasn't ready for me, I guess," Dutch said. "That's all I can say. It wasn't my time. Makes you think about life a lot more. Quit wasting time worrying about every little, stupid thing in life. Get out there and live. Do what you enjoy."
Jim Copenhaver describes being shot as a "jolt"
Copenhaver was also sitting in the bleachers behind Mr. Trump when the shooting happened.
"I was standing up looking at the Jumbotron behind me, and next thing I know my sleeve has been yanked," Copenhaver said. "I could see a portion of it going by pretty fast, and I heard 'pew.' I heard it, and I didn't realize at the time that I had gotten shot. But I turned around, and that's when I got the second shot. So, the second shot didn't hit bone. Mine went into all soft material. It was like a jolt. I didn't knock me over, but I didn't want to stand anymore."
Copenhaver, 75 of Moon Township, now walks with a cane. One bullet tore into his triceps while the other is still lodged in his body after taking chunks of his colon and leaving him with nerve damage.
"Unfortunately, it's lodged right next to my spine and hit a nerve," he said. "And so my leg was unsteady, but I grabbed hold of the railing and I went down with my body that way, and I laid on the bleachers."
The shrapnel in his pelvis may never be removed, and he has had multiple surgeries to repair his lower abdomen. He struggles to do tasks like putting his shoes on, but Copenhaver has started physical therapy aimed at "eliminating some of the numbness that's in my left leg."
"We are not going to give up," said Copenhaver, who was released from the hospital 15 days after the shooting.
Video from the rally shows the two men standing within feet of each other at the top of the bleachers as the shots rang out. Both also had their seats changed for the rally, not knowing that choice would change their lives forever.
What's next?
Copenhaver and Dutch's lawyers plan on suing the federal government and others for negligence.
They are disgusted and want accountability, as does the Comperatore family.
