The wife of a former firefighter who was killed when a gunman tried to assassinate former President Donald Trump has revealed the details of her heartwarming phone call with the Republican nominee.
Helen Comperatore wrote on Facebook that Trump called her Tuesday to offer his condolences for her husband, Corey, who died a hero as he tried to protect her and their daughter in the moments after 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire.
'He was very kind and said he would continue to call me in the days and weeks ahead,' she posted.
'I told him the same thing I told everyone else. He left this world a hero and God welcomed him in,' Comperatore wrote.
'He did not die in vain that day.'
Helen Comperatore, the wife of a former volunteer firefighter who was killed when a gunman opened fire at a Trump rally over the weekend, said the former president has called her
She described Trump in the Facebook post as being 'very kind'
Helen's post came just one day after she said she refused to take President Joe Biden's phone call.
'I don't talk to Biden,' she said. 'I didn't want to talk to him. My husband was a devout Republican and he would not have wanted me to talk to him,' she told the New York Post.
She added that she has no 'ill-will' towards the president.
'I'm not one of those people that gets involved in politics,' she told the Post.
'I support Trump, that's who I'm voting for, but I don't have any ill-will towards Biden.
'He didn't do anything to my husband, a 20-year-old despicable kid did.'
Corey Comperatore, 50, died a hero as he tried to protect his wife and daughter from the gunshots on Saturday
Comperatore was shot in the head at the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday
Helen said she and her husband, who were high school sweethearts, were on the verge of celebrating their 29th wedding anniversary when they headed to Trump's rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
'Me and the kids were all there as a family,' she said. 'He was just excited. It was going to be a nice day with the family.'
Corey, 50, eagerly shared his plans on X.
But the rally turned into a tragedy when Crooks opened fire from a rooftop just 130 yards away from where Trump was standing.
As the shots rang out, Corey sprang into action to shield his wife and daughter from the gunfire.
'He's my hero,' his wife, Helen Comperatore, told the Post. 'He just said "Get down!" That was the last thing he said.'
He was then shot in the head.
Helen has said she did not take a condolence phone call from President Joe Biden as she described her husband as a 'devout Republican'
Corey was described Sunday as a 'girl-dad' who had just turned 50 years old
An emergency room doctor at Donald Trump's rally revealed how he performed CPR on Comperatore after he was hit by a bullet intended for the former president.
'I heard the shots. I thought it was firecrackers begin with. Somebody over there was screaming 'he's been shot he's been shot,'' said the man who had blood splattered all over his white USA shirt. 'So I made my way over. I said I'm an emergency department physician. Let me help you.'
'The guy had spun around was jammed between the benches and a head shot here,' he told CBS News.
'So I got him together so I got people there really helpful. I did CPR chest compressions as well.'
But the 50-year-old was later pronounced dead.
Helen said she now wants America to remember Corey as a 'very loving husband.'
'He was a simple man, but he put his wife and kids first all the time,' she said.
'I did nothing here. I didn't lift a finger. He did everything.'
Helen said she now wants America to remember Corey as a 'very loving husband'
Trump was also shot in the right ear by Crooks, who opened fire with an AR-style rifle from a roof 130 yards from the MAGA event.
The former president was seen grabbing at his head and ducked as screams front terrified onlookers ran out.
He then stood, pumped his fist and chanted 'fight, fight, fight' as Secret Service rushed him off stage and into a motorcade.
An investigation into the shooting is now underway, as officials question how the gunman was able to set up his AR-style rifle just over 100 yards from the former president.
The former president has gone onto appear at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Meanwhile, the former president has gone onto appear at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
When he walked out on stage on Monday - barely two days after surviving an assassination attempt - the former president was greeted with chants of 'fight, fight, fight.'
The former president wore a bandage on his right ear where the bullet fired by Crooks ripped through his skin.
It could have been his wake, but after officially securing his nomination and anointing Sen. J.D. Vance as his running mate, Trump arrived for a celebration.
He was not on the speaking schedule but stayed to watch the final speeches of the night.
'They wanted tonight to be his funeral,' said Angie Wong, a delegate from Florida, as the strains of 'God Bless the USA' died away.
'Instead they got the Super Bowl of politics: A nomination and a VP pick.'