PHILADELPHIA — One man in the audience died while trying to protect his family during the attempted assassination of Donald Trump on Saturday, authorities say.

Corey Comperatore, a 50-year-old volunteer fire chief, dove onto family members when the shots rang out.

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

Pennsylvania state police said the other two people shot were 57-year-old David Dutch and 74-year-old James Copenhaver. Both were in a stable condition on Sunday.

The Pennsylvania governor said that he spoke to Comperatore’s wife and two daughters.

“Corey went to church every Sunday,” he said. “Cory loved his community. Most especially, Corey loved his family.”

He said that Comperatore was an avid supporter of Donald Trump and was excited to be at the rally Saturday.

“Corey was the very best of us. May his memory be a blessing,” Shapiro said. “Last night was shocking... political disagreements can never, ever be addressed through violence.”

State police said that Comperatore lived in Sarver, about 12 miles (19km) away from the rally site in Butler, outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

In addition to his volunteer firefighting work, he was employed as a project and tooling engineer at a plastics manufacturing company, according to his social media profiles.

“He was a good person,” neighbor Matt Achilles 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.”

“He donated money to us when I was in the hospital and he would always come by at our yard sales. He always waved hello when I drove past his house,” Achilles said.

Shapiro said also he spoke to the family of one of those injured but declined to give details about the conversation.

A bullet, one of the six to eight shots that were fired at the rally, grazed the ear of former President Trump.

The gunman, named by authorities as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, was shot dead by Secret Service officers tasked with protecting the former president. — BBC