Butler County coroner evaluates Saturday’s shooting victim, shooter
Butler County Coroner William F. Young III was unable to attend the campaign rally for former President Donald Trump on Saturday, July 13, because of other engagements, but he found himself at the Butler Farm Show grounds after midnight Sunday to examine the victim who was shot at the rally.
Young and a deputy coroner confirmed the death of Buffalo Township’s Corey Comperatore early Sunday morning and sent his body to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner to complete the autopsy.
The coroner and another deputy later returned after 6 a.m. to the American Glass Research (AGR) International building, where he climbed onto its roof to confirm the death of Thomas Matthew Crooks, whose gunfire killed Comperatore and struck three others, including Trump. The presidential candidate’s right ear was struck by a bullet before he was whisked off stage.
Young then sent Crooks’ body to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner for the autopsy. The Allegheny medical examiner did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Young said his initial assessment was that both Comperatore and Crooks died from gunshot wounds to the head.
“They were both gunshot wounds to the head, and they are both considered homicide,” Young said. “I took them both to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner; they have everything right there at their fingertips. For situations like that, you have to do an autopsy.”
Officials said that sniper fire killed the gunman after he fired several shots from the roof of the Butler Township building that overlooks the farm show grounds, located primarily in Connoquenessing Township.
Young said he was called to the farm show grounds late, after the scene was cleared, in order to examine Comperatore, and he expected to check on Crooks’ body after transporting Comperatore to Pittsburgh. However, officials told Young that they had to clear the area around AGR for potential explosives or bombs, which is why he didn’t evaluate Crooks until after 6 a.m.
“What the delay was there was, he possibly had a bomb in the car and that held everything off,” Young said. “That was part of their investigation.”
