FREEPORT, Pa. >> Thousands of mourners filed into a Pennsylvania banquet hall Thursday to remember the former fire chief who was fatally shot during the attempted assassination of Republican candidate Donald Trump, who sent a note of condolence hailing him as a hero.

The crowd paying their respects to Corey Comperatore and his family appeared to be a mix of friends, neighbors and strangers who wanted to show their appreciation for the man who officials said spent his final moments shielding his wife and daughter from gunfire at the campaign rally.

Fire trucks and police vehicles filled the parking lot outside the building. Sharpshooters were positioned on top of the event hall and on nearby buildings as dozens of people waited in line to enter. Among the mourners were firefighters in dress uniforms.

Comperatore, 50, worked as a project and tooling engineer, was an Army reservist and spent many years as a volunteer firefighter after serving as chief, according to his obituary.

Trump suffered an ear injury but was not seriously hurt and has been participating this week in the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

Mourners filled Laube Hall, a space with white brick walls, white linens, white curtains and exposed wooden beams that’s normally used for weddings and other celebratory occasions.

Guests walked past a large framed photo of Comperatore, while a slideshow of photos from his life was projected on a screen — his wedding, a recent 50th birthday party, time with his daughters, firefighting, fishing on a lake and palling around with his beloved Dobermans.

The gathering included firefighters from other nearby communities and people involved in local and state Republican politics.

‘It’s a brotherhood’

Rich Tallis, a Penn Hills volunteer firefighter who attended the visitation, did not know Comperatore personally but felt a need to honor his memory.

“Any first responder, it’s a brotherhood — police, EMS fire, military. We’re technically all one,” he said. “When one goes, we all go.”

Tables inside the hall were lined with flowers — some sent by fire departments in New York and West Virginia, an auto racing circuit and the mayor of a nearby community. Others came from people in faraway places such as Connecticut and Florida who knew of Comperatore only because of his death.

The messages on the cards accompanying the arrangements praised his selflessness and dedication to his family. One said his name would be “written in the history books.”

Several hundred people were inside the space at any given time, and the overall attendance was sure to climb into the thousands.

In a corner was a framed copy of a note to Comperatore’s wife signed by Trump and former first lady Melania Trump. “Corey will forever be remembered as a True American Hero,” they wrote.

Retired New York City Fire Department Lt. Joe Torrillo said outside the visitation that he came because Comperatore was a firefighter who lost his life the same way he lived his life — like a real, true hero.

“And, you know, a lot of people maybe wouldn’t or couldn’t have done what he did,” Torrillo said.

The visitation, which was broken into a pair of two-hour blocks, was the second of two public events memorializing and celebrating Comperatore’s life. Hundreds of people gathered Wednesday at a vigil for him at an auto racing track.

A private funeral is scheduled for Friday.

A statement issued Thursday by Comperatore’s family described him as a “beloved father and husband, and a friend to so many throughout the Butler region.”

Comperatore’s pastor, Jonathan Fehl of Cabot Methodist Church in Cabot, said the family “has been humbled by the way this community has rallied around them” and by the support they have received from people around the world.

Others wounded

Two other people were wounded at the rally: David Dutch, 57, of New Kensington, and James Copenhaver, 74, of Moon Township. As of Wednesday night, both had been upgraded to serious but stable condition, according to a spokesperson with Allegheny Health Network.

Joseph Feldman, an attorney for Copenhaver, said Wednesday that he had spoken with his client by phone.

“He seems to be in good spirits, but he also understands the gravity of the situation,” Feldman said.

Feldman said Copenhaver suffered “life-altering injuries,” declining to go into detail. He said Copenhaver’s priority is to “keep up with the medical treatment he’s receiving and hopefully be released at some point.”

In a statement, Dutch’s family thanked the “greater western Pennsylvania community and countless others across the country and world” for the incredible outpouring of prayers and well wishes.