People react during a campaign rally with Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally, Saturday, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

The July 13 assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump at the Butler Farm Show Grounds left the world in shock, with Butler County as the epicenter.

The effects from the shooting that took the life of former Buffalo Township fire chief Corey Comperatore and injured three others, including Trump, are still playing out as the community tries to deal with the tragic incident that put it in the national spotlight.

Many residents are still coming to terms with what happened.

The 19th-most-populated county in Pennsylvania, Butler is the birthplace of the Jeep and Poison frontman Bret Michaels. For an area where everyone seems to know everyone, a high-profile mass shooting and assassination attempt was the last thing most expected.

“It feels like we just got blindsided with what happened,” said Tanner Kennedy, 20, of Slippery Rock. “As a community, it was a complete 180 of how the day was supposed to go, and that’s a shame.”

Kennedy studies criminal justice at Butler County Community College. He attended the July 13 rally with a couple friends and witnessed the shooting unfold. Prior to the rally, Kennedy said some of his friends urged him to “be safe,” which he thought was a silly sentiment.

“My friends were talking about ‘Hey, be safe,’” Kennedy said. “I was telling them on the way there that we’re going to be in Butler County. There’s no reason not to be safe. Everyone here loves Trump. There’s no better place to be if you were (the) former president.”

The upcoming election is the first in which Kennedy can vote, and he said he was excited to attend the rally to see what Trump had to say. And with Secret Service snipers in plain sight, he felt especially secure among his fellow rally attendees.

But fear was the primary feeling for many rally attendees and community members immediately following the shooting.

“Everybody’s first instincts were just dropping to the ground and praying that no more gun shots would be (fired),” Kennedy said.

Kennedy said at least inside the rally, the Secret Service did a good job keeping people safe after the shots were fired. But with a lack of information about what was happening, he didn’t know if there was only one gunman.

“I wasn’t scared at all after the gun shots because I knew whatever was going on was pretty much over,” Kennedy said. “What was more concerning was we had no idea if there was more than one person, and we didn’t know where it was coming from. So, there was a scary thought about the (possibility) there was somebody (else) in the crowd.”

Many community members who didn’t attend the event faced a different fear — a fear their friends, family and/or loved ones at the rally may have been hurt.

William Petsinger, 22, of Butler City, did not attend the rally himself, but he had quite a few close family friends who did. He was hiking with friends out of town when the shooting took place, but it wasn’t until he got back to his car and checked his phone that he realized what happened.

“(When) I finally had a cell signal again and opened up my phone, the first thing I saw was ‘shots fired at the rally,’” Petsinger said. “My heart dropped; I was instantly praying. My mind definitely did go to ‘Some people I know are there.’

“It was like, ‘Oh no. I’ve read about this, but it’s always somewhere else. I’ve seen this sort of thing, (but) it’s always somebody else. And now it’s here, and it might’ve been people I know.”

Estol Harp, of Connoquenessing Township, is the owner of Eracers Wild West Miniature Golf, across the street from the Farm Show ground, and the proprietor of a number of buildings along Evans City Road, which he leases to local businesses.

He was driving his friend to the rally in a golf cart when he heard the shots. He said he didn’t know if they were gunshots or firecrackers until he saw the crowd of rally attendees fleeing.

“It’s been kind of uneasy,” Harp said. “You kind of wonder why it happened.”

Along with the feeling of shock and uneasiness, Harp said he and many community members are disappointed the assassination attempt has made “Butler famous for the wrong reason.”

“Up until this, I guess we were best known for the Jeep,” Harp said. “One thing I noticed is we have more than enough people pulling in over there at the entrance to the Farm Show, getting out and looking. I don’t know what they expect to see. … It’s kind of turned the Farm Show into a freak show for tourists, in my opinion.”

Stapko also felt worried Butler would be reduced to “the place where (Trump) got shot.”

“We’re way more than that, so I hope we don’t get that title,” Stapko said.

Kennedy agreed the incident shouldn’t define the Butler area, but he said it’s important for the world and the local community to remember happened.

“As much as I don’t want this to reflect Butler County, I think this is something that needs to be talked about and something we can continue to shed light on. Because if you don’t shine light on the situation, it’s something that’s going to continue to happen.”

Besides shock and disappointment, many community members are also experiencing trauma, especially the rallygoers.

“I think the trauma has been largely reserved for the people who were there,” Petsinger said. “That’s a scarring thing. … It’s going to be something that sticks with you.”

Kennedy said he and one of his friends who attended the rally have had frequent nightmares ever since. He said he often wakes up sweating and can’t go back to sleep.

“I’ve woken up at night due to these dreams, and I never had dreams anything like it,” Kennedy said. “It’s traumatizing, and I guarantee I’m not the only one who experiences that.

“I don’t know; as a man, I kind of feel a little embarrassed of these dreams. I’m not a little kid anymore. I shouldn’t be having these nightmares, but they’re 100% real nightmares.”

He said his dreams revolve around his workplace at FedEx, where he has to go through similar security measures as he did at the Trump rally.

“Those dreams are happening at my work, but it’s the same exact scenario with a mass shooting, and it’s scary,” Kennedy said. “I wouldn’t wish that on anybody, that experience … (but) it’s probably happening to everybody who was there. We’re experiencing those terrors.”

Kennedy also said he’s felt an overwhelming sense of grief for the shooter’s victims and their families.

“There’s not one word in the dictionary that can express how I felt that day and how I feel today,” Kennedy said. “I’m still trying to find that perfect word … for the sense of sorrow and sympathy that I have for everybody. …

“We can give (the victims and their families) a whole bunch of money, but that’s not going to heal them. We have to just be human and have each other’s backs during these hard times. … An act of kindness can really go a long way.”

Kennedy said he’s done attending rallies. Even going to Walmart puts him on guard. But one thing that’s been giving him hope is the sense of unity since the shooting took place.

“I’m very satisfied seeing how we’re all united right now as Butler County, and as a country as a whole, at a time when we’re the most divided,” Kennedy said. “At the end of the day, this isn’t about politics — this is about a human that lost his life and other victims involved. …

“As a community, we need to remember that we’re human at the end of the day, and we need to have each other's backs no matter what. … And I really like how the community has shed some light on the situation, and it’s really satisfying watching both parties come together.”