The doctor who attempted to save the life of a man killed during former President Donald Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania relived the July assassination attempt in an interview Saturday, as Trump prepares to return to Butler in the coming hours.
A gunman opened fire on the former president at the rally in Butler, nearly assassinating Trump and killing a rally attendee, Corey Comperatore. Jim Sweetland, a doctor who was also in attendance at the rally, spoke to Fox News on Saturday about his attempt to save Comperatore’s life in the aftermath of the shooting and called Comperatore — who was a firefighter and father of two — a “hero.”
“It was like a rock and roll concert. It was a beautiful sky, like today,” Sweetland told Fox, recalling the moments at the rally before the shooting. “Shots rang out … shortly after that, Trump was just surrounded by a pyramid of Secret Service within an instant.”
“I heard a woman, probably about 40 feet [away] … call out, ‘He’s been shot, he’s down,’” Sweetland said. “At that point — I hesitated. But then I heard a voice … that said, ‘Go! Go! They need your help. What are you waiting for? I thought at first it was [someone else’s voice] … I really believe now it was God.”
Sweetland went on to describe his attempt to save Comperatore’s life, telling Fox that he immediately performed CPR and cardiac compressions on Comperatore before asking others to help lift him so that he could be transported to additional medical care.
Police intervened at that moment to help, Sweetland said, before revealing he had met Comperatore in the past.
“I had met Corey before, and I locked eyes with his wife … all I could do was blurt out to her, ‘He’s going to get the help he needs,” Sweetland said. The Fox reporter then told him that Comperatore’s wife and family would be present at the upcoming rally. “I would love to meet them. I would love to say that their father died a hero. Because in split seconds, he gave his life for them, he threw his body over them so that they would not be shot… I’ve heard a lot that Corey was a victim. And he wasn’t. He was a hero. He gave his life willingly to protect them.”
Sweetland said he will be in attendance at the upcoming Trump rally in Butler on Saturday. Trump plans to honor the memory of Comperatore and his family during the rally, according to CNN, as well as the other two victims of the shooting who survived.
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