Trump rally speaker who tended to murdered attendee hopes 'horrific' event will unite nation
A speaker at President Trump’s Pennsylvania rally where he was injured by an attempted assassin’s bullet spoke out Monday after treating the attendee who was fatally shot in the head.
Rico Elmore, a hydraulic mechanic with the Pennsylvania Air National Guard’s 171st Air Refueling Wing, said he was seated in the VIP area of the Butler, Pennsylvania, rally when shots rang out.
Elmore, seated near GOP Senate candidate David McCormick, former House candidate Sean Parnell and Slippery Rock Mayor Jondavid Longo, had recently returned to his seat when he heard what sounded like firecrackers.
"Immediately, myself, Sean Parnell and J.D. Longo, we’re both, because of our military background, we’re like, ‘Something’s going on,’" said Elmore, who is also the Beaver County Republican Committee's vice chair.
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"So, we're looking around, trying to scour the area, and you hear it again. And then we just start yelling, ‘Everyone get down.’"
Elmore recounted watching Secret Service agents pile atop Trump to shield him, before he noticed a rallygoer calling out for a medic.
Elmore ran over, crossed a barricade and helped treat Corey Comperatore, noticing he had been shot in the head.
While those in attendance proclaimed him a hero, Elmore said the true hero was the doctor who performed CPR on Comperatore, who died from his injuries.
"People perceived that I was somebody of importance. I'm just an average Joe who wanted to be there, went to the event and who spoke at it, but people perceive otherwise. So, I took it on and said, you know, ‘Everyone get down, get down, get down,’" he recounted.
When he noticed the gruesomeness of Comperatore’s wound, he covered his head with a towel.
"So no one had to see that horrific, horrific, sight," he said, going on to praise federal, state and local law enforcement for responding to the threat quickly and ensuring the safety of the other rallygoers.
"It doesn't matter if you're against police or for police, but the police on that day did a phenomenal job of protecting and getting the people out. So, my hat goes off to them. There were so many people that you can thank in this, but we began to usher people out of the crowd. I mean, it came down to the point where myself and other people were carrying people out of harm's way, along with J.D. Longo and Sean Parnell," he said.
Elmore went on to speak about the nationwide unity he has seen since the assassination attempt on Trump.
"I believe that it's going to bring a sense of togetherness across all lines, Democrat, Republican and any other political party affiliation, because now it's to the realization that this can happen. It can happen anywhere," he said.
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"You can go outside and someone can do this. You can be at a rally and someone can do this all based on a political viewpoint or an opinion."
He added that the suspect was the one who made the decision to fire upon Trump and the rallygoers, not the rifle he used.
Locally in Beaver County, which abuts Butler County, the community continues to pray for the families of all the victims, adding that a grief counselor has been on hand in the area for anyone needing help.
"I would say that I can only hope that we can come together for the people, for the community, in this horrific experience, in this horrific time; the divisiveness, the infighting that has to stop," Elmore said. "Because if we don't, more lives will be taken for no reason. And that has to stop."