The retired firefighter who was killed at former U.S. president Donald Trump’s campaign rally in Pennsylvania last week wasn’t supposed to be sitting so close to the stage, according to a report by the New York Post.
Corey Comperatore, a 50-year-old former fire chief who was sitting with his family in front-row seats at the rally, was fatally shot as he was shielding his wife and daughter while a shooter tried to assassinate Trump.
“So talk about a freak, freak accident. That he wasn’t even supposed to be sitting there and he ends up losing his life,” said Scott Dockherty, the CEO of a manufacturing company where Comperatore’s brother worked.
Dockherty made the comments outside Comperatore’s wake at in the firefighter’s hometown of Freeport, where many gathered to pay their respects.
“You realize that Corey and his family weren’t even supposed to sit in those seats,” Dockherty reportedly said, citing a conversation he had with Comperatore’s brother.
According to Dockherty, the Comperatores were standing to the left of the stage just before Trump was slated to speak, but the family was offered four front-row tickets.
As Trump spoke at the rally, gunfire broke out and Comperatore spent his final moments protecting his family from the line of fire.
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A bullet grazed Trump’s ear, but Comperatore was killed and two other men were wounded.
The wounded men – David Dutch, 57, and James Copenhaver, 74 – are recovering at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pa.