Victims of Butler Trump rally shooting still looking for accountability: "This shouldn't have happened"
This Sunday will mark one year since a young man tried to kill then-candidate Donald Trump during a campaign rally in Butler County.
The lone gunman was identified as Thomas Crooks. Crooks fired shots from a rooftop and the U.S. Secret Service returned fire, killing him.
A bullet hit Trump's ear. Crooks' gunfire killed firefighter Corey Comperatore and injured two others in the crowd: Jim Copenhaver and David Dutch.
In a story you'll see only on KDKA-TV, Copenhaver and Dutch, along with Comperatore's family, are coming together for the first time.
The victims are linked by the attempted assassination of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump at the Farm Show Grounds in Butler on July 13, 2024. They're bonded by their mutual concern for whether anybody will ever be held accountable for what they believe is gross negligence.
Shooting victims David Dutch and James Copenhaver are grateful they survived their life-threatening injuries. But for Corey Comperatore's family, meeting Dutch and Copenhaver is bittersweet.
Corey Comperatore's family says Secret Service failed him
"We've been praying for you guys. We pray for you all the time," Kelly Comperatore Meeder told David Dutch.
"That's what got me through it, was the praying," Dutch responded.
"The thing is, my brother doesn't remember what happened that day, and you do. We pray for you, not just for your physical wellbeing, but you were there, and you have the emotional scars too," Comperatore Meeder said.
The pain for Corey's sisters Kelly and Dawn and his mom Karen is unbearable at times.
"You are gut punched constantly," Dawn Comperatore Schafer said.
Comperatore, the former Buffalo Township fire chief, loved life, had a strong faith and was a devoted husband and girl dad. He just turned 50 when he was shot in the head and killed.
"I miss my boy. No other words. I miss him. I yearn for him," said mom Karen Schafer Bird.
"When they say that joy and grief can sit at the same table, that is our life now. There is always something missing," said Comperatore Meeder.
"His birthday came and I was so sad. His birthday was June 16. I was just brushing my teeth, talking to him and wishing him a happy birthday. I don't see a lot of the things the same anymore," Dawn Comperatore Schafer said.
The families are also linked by their frustration about the communication and security failures of the Secret Service and lingering questions.
"As far as the Secret Service, you failed my brother. You failed our family," Comperatore Meeder said.
"How does this 20-year-old snot-nosed kid outsmart the Secret Service?" Comperatore Meeder added.
"My biggest frustration is that everybody knew. We have all seen the videos, they are everywhere. There are people saying there is a guy on the roof, he has a gun," Comperatore Meeder added.
"Why did they walk him out? Why? If they would have waited one more minute, one more minute, until the threat had subsided, this whole thing would have taken a totally different trajectory and my brother would still be alive," she said.
Shooting victims want answers and accountability
Dutch and Copenhaver want answers too.
When asked what justice would look like, Dutch replied, "Truth. Whatever the truth actually would be. Unredacted reports."
"I want accountability. If you are going to do a job, do it the way it's supposed to be done," Dutch said.
When asked if he thinks there's more to the story, Dutch said, "More than likely, but we probably will never hear anything about it."
"I would like to hear what is being held back. There are phones that were been found, there were devices that were not fully exposed. I want to hear about that," Copenhaver said.
"I understand because of their position, they are not personally liable, but because of their position, they should have job liability," Copenhaver added.
Comperatore Meeder agreed on the need for accountability.
"We want somebody named. We want names, that's what we want. We want accountability. People should be fired. This should have happened before now. Here we are a year later and we still don't know — the three of us, I'm speaking for the three of us — we still don't know anything more than we knew then," she said.
