For Rico Elmore, Corey Comperatore is the ultimate hero following Trump rally in Butler County
Despite what others say, Rico Elmore doesn’t consider himself a hero.
“I’d like to put it out there in black and white, Rico Elmore is not a hero, Corey Comperatore is a hero,” Elmore said. “Because the ultimate sacrifice one person made to protect their family, on top of being a firefighter, on top of being a husband, a brother — that’s a true hero. I was somebody that happened to be in the area and rendered the aid.”
When Elmore spoke to the Butler Eagle by phone on July 1, he was deployed on military assignment for the United States Air Force’s 171st Air Refueling Wing, unable to disclose his location.
Elmore, who lives in Rochester in Beaver County and is the vice chairman of the Beaver County Republican Party, was thrown into the national spotlight following his attempts to save Comperatore on July 13, 2024, at the Trump campaign rally in Connoquenessing Township. Elmore rushed up the bleachers after shots rang out to assist the wounded Comperatore, alongside Dr. James Sweetland, an emergency room physician.
Elmore wants to make it clear: He wasn’t sitting right next to Comperatore.
He doesn’t want events of the day misrepresented. He was sitting near the front, in a VIP section with other guest speakers at the rally when a lone gunman attempted to assassinate then candidate President Donald Trump.
Since that day, he has given speeches and sat on panels for various public events answering questions about trying to aid Comperatore, talking about his experiences rallying for Trump and praising Comperatore for putting himself on the line to protect his family.
“Looking through that day, I wish I could have done more assisting that family, wishing I could have saved his life,” Elmore said. “In the days after, everything came floating in, and I kept asking, ‘Could I have done more, moved faster, acted quicker in rendering aid?’”
The aftermath of the rally shooting has led him to reflect on what happened that day, what followed and how it has affected him. While his military training did help him react to the situation, he said God pushed him to run toward the danger.
“Something told me to just go, and I went,” he said. “I’m a religious guy. I go to church, and I ask myself, ‘Why did God put me here for this purpose?’ He had made me understand, ‘Don’t act like anyone else or anyone I’m not. Just try and be you.’ And that’s made an impact on my life.”
Elmore said he still deals with a degree of anxiety — sometimes he hears sharp noises that trouble him, taking him back to those moments at the Butler Farm Show grounds.
“I’ve been able to push through it otherwise, talk through it, and that’s made me a better person at the end of the day. Some people do stuff and they want praise for it, they want to be acknowledged for it,” he said. “I did it because it was just the right thing to do. ”
Elmore’s life experiences have also influenced him to be there for the Comperatore family.
Elmore is 35 years old. His mother died when he was 16 years old. He said he can relate to Comperatore’s daughters.
As he’s gotten close with the family, Elmore has learned the importance of being able to lean on one another for support and being able to talk regularly as everyone continues to process what happened. Elmore said the Comperatores — Corey’s wife Helen and daughters Allyson and Kaylee — are like an extension of his own family.
He said he feels for a family that continues to grieve while being pulled in many different directions — going on television and speaking at public events.
“As much as everybody wants to be there for the family and look after them, those are all good things, but we have to remember that they lost someone in their family,” Elmore said. “A wife, kids, family members, they need time to grieve. We should ask, ‘What does the family want? What does the family need?’ and allowing them to have the space they need.”
What Elmore loathes about the spotlight, he said, is the attention on continued political divisions in our communities. While politics was what brought him to the rally, he said in a time where unity is needed, politics should be set aside. There should be a focus on supporting the family and recognizing Comperatore for the kind, loving, compassionate person he was.
“This is real life, something devastating happened, and you’re making a mockery of it. That is not how we should be as a people,” he said. “We should come together, not use politics to divide.”
Elmore said he just hopes God protects the Comperatore family. He urges people to think before they speak because the family needs time to grieve.
“I love that the community has come together to remember Corey Comperatore. It excites me. It brings me joy and comfort that the family knows the community is behind them and there for them at any time and at a moment’s notice,” Elmore said. “I am happy to know Corey’s name is continually in the hearts and the minds of others.”
