Multiple reports indicate that the father of two immediately “dove on his family to protect them.”

Those who were nearby, including an emergency room doctor, made attempts to save his life, but Comperatore had been fatally wounded.

“Corey died a hero,” Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said during a press conference on Sunday.

“Yesterday time stopped. And when it started again my family and I started living a real-life nightmare,” Comperatore’s daughter Allyson wrote in a now deleted Facebook post. “What was supposed to be an exciting day that we had all looked forward to (ESPECIALLY my dad), turned into the most traumatizing experiences someone could imagine.”

“He loved his family. He truly loved us enough to take a real bullet for us. And I want nothing more than to cry on him and tell him thank you. I want nothing more than to wake up and for this to not be reality for me and my family.”

“We lost a selfless, loving, husband, father, brother, uncle, son, and friend. And I will never stop thinking about him and mourning over him until the day that I die too. July 13th will forever be a day the changed my life. I will never be the same person I was less than 24 hours ago.”

“We lost a fellow Pennsylvanian last night,” Shapiro said during a press conference. “Corey Comperatore was a girl dad. Corey was a firefighter. Corey went to church every Sunday. Corey loved his community, and most especially Corey loves his family. Corey was an avid supporter of the former president and was so excited to be there last night with him in the community.”

“He was a good person,” Matt Achilles, Comperatore’s neighbor of four years, told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “We might not have agreed on the same political views, but that didn’t stop him from being a good friend and neighbor.”

A GoFundMe has been set up to assist the family in their time of mourning. As of publication the fundraiser has raised $900,000.