Up a tiny, winding country road, vehicle after vehicle filled with black-clad mourners drove up to a local community center on Thursday afternoon.
Small American flags lined the side of the steep hill, over a hundred in total, all placed about the same distance apart and spanning the entire length of the road. About halfway up, a black and purple ribbon of mourning sat on the opposite side — symbolizing a grieving community.
It was the day of the memorial for Corey Comperatore, the 50-year-old former fire chief who was shot and killed protecting his family as he attended a rally for former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania .
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People from far and wide ventured to the small borough of Freeport, located about 23 miles south of where the rally took place. Visitation hours that were open to the public were held from 2-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. on Thursday at Laube Hall at the top of Community Park Road.
A procession to the venue was scheduled for 2 p.m. on Thursday, but it was either canceled or rescheduled — though a few firetrucks and ambulances embossed with the logos of local EMS and fire companies ventured up the hill along with other mourners.
Some EMS personnel who drove a vehicle marked "Sarver" on the side leaned out the windows of the cabin, forlorn expressions painting their faces. Their grief was evident, as was that of many other first responders who parked their fire engines and ambulances just outside Laube Hall.
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Many sat on the edges of the vehicles or in lawn chairs in small circles as they chatted or greeted other mourners. They had put out awnings and what appeared to be small grills.
Comperatore had been a member and the former chief of the Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Company. Still, his death rocked every local fire community. Sadness hung over the Freeport Fire Department on Wednesday as the town prepared to host the memorials for the slain father and husband.
A truck bearing flashing billboards was also parked outside the community center, with some of the rotating messages slamming Democrats with the words "never surrender" as others called for prayers for both Comperatore and Trump, who was shot in the ear at the rally. Two others were critically injured in the shooting, too, but were listed in serious but stable condition by the Allegheny Health Network on Wednesday night.
At the entrance to the massive parking lot, police stood greeting everyone who drove by at a small screening station before they were allowed to park and enter the venue.
Media personnel were corralled into a small area near the baseball fields across the parking lot from the community center, which is located in a local park, and told they weren't allowed to go any closer to Laube Hall out of respect for the family. One reporter who tried to enter Laube Hall appeared to get a stern talking-to by a local police officer, who directed the man back to the media staging area across the parking lot.
A couple of sharpshooters could be seen standing on the roof of the building, using their scopes to check out the mountains surrounding the town as they worked to protect the event.
By about 3 p.m., several hundred mourners, all dressed in black, had made their way to Laube Hall. Routes in and out of Freeport, especially near Laube Hall, were being controlled by the police, who directed traffic in an attempt to ease congestion.
One woman walked alone up Community Park Road clutching a bouquet of yellow flowers. She wore a black flowery dress and told reporters that she had known Comperatore and that the two had been friends.
Another woman wearing a black top and flowery skirt biked up the steep hill to pay her respects and was seen biking back down about half an hour later.
The cousin of Helen Comperatore, Corey's widow, also arrived to pay her respects to the Comperatores and honor Corey's life.
Cindy Villella told TheMirror.com that she remembers Corey as "just a down-to-earth person" who was "just great." She described him as a family-focused man and said she was still in "terrible shock" about what had happened.
The 58-year-old resident of Plum, another Pittsburgh suburb just around 17 miles south of Freeport, said she found out that Corey had been shot and killed while watching the local news.
"I was like, 'Oh my god, that's my cousin!'" she said, describing the way she found out a "terrible shock" as she said the first thing she did was call her husband, Joe.
Joe, 60, told TheMirror.com that he had been out fishing when his wife delivered the news that there had been a shooting at the Trump rally, which was hosted in the northern regions of Butler County at Butler Farm Show, Inc., a fairground located approximately 23 miles north of Freeport.
Cindy said she and the Comperatores weren't incredibly close — they would only see each other around holidays or at some family functions.
She also detailed a bit of family tension but said she and Joe felt they needed to come and pay their respects nevertheless. They're trying to "take it day by day," they said — the grief still hit hard despite their distance from the Comperatores.
"I send my severe condolences to Helen and the family," Cindy concluded, and she and Joe walked toward the parking lot, past the media frenzy stationed outside and into Laube Hall to pay their respects.
One man traveled over 290 miles to attend the visitation hours on Thursday, driving for more than five hours to Freeport from Gilbertsville, Pennsylvania, a small, census-designated place about 43 miles northwest of Philadelphia.
Justin Strycharz told reporters outside Laube Hall that he was "upset about what happened on Saturday" and that he felt compelled to pay his respects to a man he called a hero.
"What Corey did is anything I could ever hope to do for my family in that situation," he told the gaggle of reporters, adding that he has two 12-year-old twin daughters.
He described Thursday's memorial as "pleasant" and "respectful," telling TheMirror.com and other publications that he "heard a lot of people sharing stories" inside Laube Hall.
Inside the building, the 40-year-old said sympathy cards were neatly placed on tables and that people were chatting everywhere. He said he spoke with a couple of men who used to work with Comperatore.
Strycharz detailed picture displays inside and described the touching way in which the organizers of the event had created a space dedicated to Corey's memory. "The gravity of why there’s a funeral I think was present there," he said.
Laura Solla, a 62-year-old resident of Freeport, was on a walk with her husband around the community and said she decided to stop along Community Park Road to watch some of the proceedings and pay her respects to the Comperatores.
"This exemplifies what our country is about," she said of the procession of vehicles entering the venue to attend the visitation hours there. She added that Freeport often hosts similar events, with everyone coming together to help the victims of fires and floods or other types of tragedies.
Solla said she didn't know the Comperatores well but that her daughters had gone to school with their daughters.
On Thursday, the Comperatore family issued a statement about Corey, describing him as a "beloved father and husband, and a friend to so many throughout the Butler region." It added, "Our family is finding comfort and peace through the heartfelt messages of encouragement from people around the world, through the support of our church and community, and most of all through the strength of God."
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