Marine veteran who survived Trump rally shooting remains in medically induced coma
Three victims of the Pennsylvania rally shooting have been identified by police, two of whom survived the attack
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Your support makes all the difference.A military veteran who survived the shooting at the Trump rally in Pennsylvania is in a stable condition but in a medically induced coma after being shot.
David Dutch, 57, was a spectator in the crowd when he was injured in the assassination attempt on Donald Trump’s life at a campaign event in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, police said.
The Marine Corps League of Pennsylvania reportedly said that Dutch is a member of its organization and said that he had been shot in the liver and chest.
“He has had one surgery and is undergoing another this morning,” District 8 Vice Commandant Matt Popovich said in a now-removed post, according to TribLive, which also identified the victim as a military veteran.
“He is currently in an induced coma.”
“Please pray for his recovery and for strength to his family,” the MCL department wrote in another post on Sunday, which just stated that one of its members was injured and was in critical condition at the time.
Alongside Dutch, who is from New Kensington, PA, another victim who also survived the attack and is in stable condition has been identified by Pennsylvania State Police as 74-year-old James Copenhaver, of Moon Township, PA.
A third victim who was attending the rally with his family was killed in the attack after he threw his loved ones to the ground and shielded them from the bullets fired. He was identified as 50-year-old former fire chief Corey Comperatore from Sarver, PA, and dubbed a “real-life superhero” by his daughter, Allyson Comperatore, in a since removed social media post.
Comperatore leaves behind a wife and two daughters, Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro said on Sunday afternoon.
“Corey died a hero,” Shapiro said. “Corey dived on his family to protect them last night. Corey was the very best of us.”
Comperatore was a fire chief but had recently retired, WPXI reported. He was a project and tooling engineer at the JSP company and lived in Sarver, Pennsylvania, according to his social media profiles.
A “President Trump Authorized” GoFundMe page has been set up to raise money for the victims of the shooting, which has now gained over $3.7m in donations.
Meredith O’Rourke, the national finance director and senior adviser to Trump, set up the page, which said “All donations will be directed to these proud Americans as they grieve and recover. May God bless and unite our nation.”
Famous figures have donated money to the fundraiser, with large sums being contributed in the day since the shock shooting. Musician and Trump advocate Kid Rock and president of Ultimate Fighting Championship Dana White each donated $50,000 to the fund.
Trump’s daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner, failed GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, conservative pundit Ben Shapiro, rightwing commentator Benny Johnson, and billionaire Bill Ackman have also contributed to the campaign.
Minutes into his on-stage campaign speech, gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, opened fire on the former president from the rooftop of a building just outside of the rally security perimeter.
Trump was struck in the ear by a bullet before he crouched to the ground behind the podium as shots can be heard continuing to ring out.
Secret Service agents returned fire on the gunman, shooting him dead at the scene.
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