Veteran injured in 2024 Trump rally shooting dies at 76

Jim Copenhaver, 76, died on Wednesday while surrounded by his loved ones, according to a statement from his family’s attorney, Joseph A. Feldman. Copenhaver had been injured two years earlier when a gunman opened fire at a Donald Trump campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024. He was struck once in the triceps and once in the abdomen, sustaining nerve damage and requiring surgery that involved transecting part of his colon.

The family said the injuries were “life-altering” and that Copenhaver, a veteran, had lost 30 pounds and needed a cane to walk in the months after the attack. He recalled hearing the gunshots and realizing he had been hit.

"I heard it distinctly," Copenhaver told NBC News, adding, "I turn around to my friend and I said, ‘I think I was shot.’ And that’s when I got the second one."

The shooting also wounded President Trump’s ear, though he was not seriously injured, and killed former fire chief Corey Comperatore. The assailant, 20-year-old Thomas Crooks, was killed by a Secret Service sharpshooter. Law-enforcement officials said no motive was identified.

Copenhaver’s family released a statement thanking the public for support after the “horrible, senseless, and unnecessary act of violence.” A House Republicans’ official X account posted condolences, noting his “unimaginable hardship with strength and perseverance.”