Looking back on the July 13, 2024 assassination attempt, read the stories
A year ago on July 13, 2024, a lone gunman fired eight shots into the crowd at the Butler Farm Show grounds attempting to assassinate then-candidate President Donald Trump.
The shooting, which lasted only seconds, claimed the life of Buffalo Township resident and former fire chief Corey Comperatore, left campaign rally spectators James Copenaver and David Dutch critically injured and sent Trump, who suffered a wound to his ear, for treatment at Butler Memorial Hospital.
The gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks was shot and fatally wounded.
Butler County found itself thrust into the global spotlight, becoming the focal point of political tension following the event that shook the nation to its core.
Stories reflecting on the assassination attempt will be shared to this page throughout the week and in a special print edition Sunday, July 13, 2025.
Further, the Butler Eagle has detailed its coverage of the July 2024 event and its aftermath in a 56-page book, “Meeting the Moment.” The book is available for $20 by calling 724-431-2200 or visiting the Butler Eagle office at 514 West Wayne Street, Butler. A webpage to buy the event is forthcoming.
How Butler County’s 911 dispatchers soldiered through stressful Trump rally
Emergency services dispatchers, the county’s “first first responders” as 911 director Rob McLafferty calls them, leaned into their training on July 13, 2024, to handle all the challenges that arose that infamous day when an assassin struck at President Donald Trump’s pre-election rally at the Butler Farm Show grounds in Connoquenessing Township.
“Gunshot wound ... Gunshots at the Trump rally... gunshots,” one caller said. Her panicked voice came through the phone in fragments.
How Butler Memorial Hospital staff reacted when Trump was brought there for treatment following an assassination attempt
Patients who were brought to the hospital by ambulance for medical issues after Trump arrived were treated in the ambulances outside of the hospital, said Dr. David Rottinghaus, provider network president for Independence Health System.
Butler mayor reflects on aftermath of the Trump shooting
Butler Mayor Bob Dandoy was at dinner with family on July 13, 2024 when he got a call from The New York Times for a statement about the attempted assassination of then presidential candidate Donald Trump.
