A man who was wounded when a gunman opened fire at President Donald Trump during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, has died after a more than two-year struggle with his injuries.<\/p>\n
Jim Copenhaver, 76, died Wednesday at a hospital in Pittsburgh, according to the Allegheny County medical examiner office. The cause of death is under investigation.<\/p>\n
Cophenhaver was struck twice in the July 2024 attack<\/a> that killed Corey Comperatore, a firefighter in the crowd, and wounded another spectator as well as the president in a stunning act of political violence amid the heated presidential campaign.<\/p>\n The gunman, 20-year-old Thomas Crooks, was shot and killed by the Secret Service.<\/p>\n Copenhaver, who was attending the rally with family members, was struck once in his bicep while another round lodged next to his spine, leaving nerve damage. He underwent numerous surgeries, and required additional surgeries in the future as of several months ago, according to a lawsuit filed by Copenhaver in June against the federal government.<\/p>\n Trump called Copenhaver’s death a “tremendous loss” in a post Thursday on Truth Social<\/a>.<\/p>\n “After being wounded while protecting his family, Jim showed tremendous bravery, courageously continuing to FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT, and maintaining a positive spirit despite unimaginable hardships,” he said. “His indelible legacy of love and devotion will forever endure.”<\/p>\n The Pennsylvania resident had to walk with a cane after the shooting, underwent physical therapy and continued to live with numbness in his left leg, he told CBS News Pittsburgh<\/a> in an interview a year after the shooting.<\/p>\n “It’s a struggle everyday,” he said on the TODAY show<\/a> in 2024. “It’s painful here and there.”<\/p>\n