One of the people shot during the July 2024 assassination attempt on President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, has died. James Copenhaver was 76.
Copenhaver died Wednesday at a Pittsburgh hospital surrounded by his family, his attorney said.
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Copenhaver was sitting in the bleachers at Trump’s rally when a gunman opened fire. He was shot in the arm and abdomen, underwent multiple surgeries and was left with lingering injuries that required him to walk with a cane.
It is not yet clear whether Copenhaver’s death was related to the wounds he suffered that day. The medical examiner says his cause and manner of death are still pending.
The shooting
The gunman fired on the rally from the roof of a nearby building, grazing Trump’s ear.
Two other people in the crowd were also shot. David Dutch survived, while firefighter Corey Comperatore was killed while shielding his family from the gunfire.
Copenhaver underwent multiple surgeries after the shooting and was left with kidney damage and a loss of feeling in his leg, according to The Associated Press. His injuries included a transection of his colon.
Investigators said the gunman, 20-year-old Thomas Crooks, fired up to eight shots from the roof of a nearby building before a Secret Service sharpshooter killed him.
Copenhaver and his wife sued the federal government in June, accusing the Secret Service and Department of Homeland Security of “utterly failing” to protect people at the rally. Dutch has filed a separate lawsuit.
Trump remembers Copenhaver
In a post on social media Thursday, President Trump remembered Copenhaver as a “true American patriot,” calling his death a “tremendous loss.”
House Republicans said Copenhaver had “endured unimaginable hardship with strength and perseverance.”
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro also offered condolences to Copenhaver’s family.
“I said it at the time in Butler and I say it again today: we all have a responsibility to take down the temperature, rise above hateful rhetoric, and search for a brighter future for this nation,” he added.
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