Helen Comperatore speaks during the dedication of a statue in memory of Corey Comperatore to the South Butler Community Library after parade honoring the former Buffalo Township resident and firefighter , who was killed during the assassination attempt of Donald Trump last year, was held along Main Street in Saxonburg on Saturday, July 12, 2025. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle
Morgan Phillips
SAXONBURG — Helen Comperatore said some of the greatest moments of peace she’s found in the last year has been from escaping into books, especially books about grief, after the loss of her husband, Corey Comperatore.
“There’s nothing like a place to come and pick up a book and read in peace,” she said.
Former Buffalo Township fire chief Corey Comperatore was killed at President Donald Trump’s July 13 campaign rally at the Butler Farm Show.
A protection detail surrounds the car driving Helen, Kaylee and Allyson Comperatore during the parade honoring the former Buffalo Township resident and firefighter Corey Comperatore, who was killed during the assassination attempt of Donald Trump last year, along Main Street in Saxonburg on Saturday, July 12, 2025. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle
Morgan Phillips
Following a brief morning parade in his honor down Saxonburg’s Main Street, almost a year after Corey’s death, Helen and her two daughters, Kaylee and Allyson, unveiled a statue donated to the South Butler Community Library in front of a crowd of around 50 people.
“My husband would just be in awe of this,” said Helen, fighting through tears, before her daughters unveiled the statue. “He was such a humble man. For someone who didn’t think he had friends in the world, this is just so much.”
The bronze statue depicts a boy and a girl reading. It was placed on a book shelf just inside the library’s front door after the ceremony.
A statue donated to the South Butler Community Library by the Comperatore family.Matthew Glover/Butler Eagle
A second statue of Corey’s Buffalo Township fire uniform was also featured but would not remain at the library.
A Corey Comperatore statue sits in the South Butler Community LIbrary after it was driven through Saxonburg during a parade honoring the former Buffalo Township resident and firefighter Corey Comperatore, who was killed during the assassination attempt of Donald Trump last year, on Saturday, July 12, 2025. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle
Morgan Phillips
“It’s so hard for me to hold back the tears today for him because this is what I wanted for him,” Helen said. “I wanted him to see that people cared and that he’s missed.”
The South Butler Community Library was the second stop for the Comperatores for Corey’s Cruise, which also featured a memorial motorcycle ride, live music and fireworks in Russellton. Before the dedication ceremony, the Comperatores rode through a brief morning parade down Saxonburg’s Main Street in Corey’s honor. The rode in a third-generation 1992 Ford Mustang LX convertible. The fox-body car was Corey’s favorite.
Community members wave to the car driving Helen, Kaylee and Allyson Comperatore as they leave South Butler Community Library and head to Freeport after a parade was held in Saxonburg honoring the former Buffalo Township resident and firefighter Corey Comperatore, who was killed during the assassination attempt of Donald Trump last year, on Saturday, July 12, 2025. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle
Morgan Phillips
A Corey Comperatore statue is carried into the South Butler Community Library after a parade honoring the former Buffalo Township resident and firefighter Corey Comperatore, who was killed during the assassination attempt of Donald Trump last year, filed down Main Street in Saxonburg on Saturday, July 12, 2025. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle
Morgan Phillips
