One of the two men critically injured in the Donald Trump assassination attempt, James Copenhaver, is “sad” about “political division” in America.
Copenhaver, who was 74 at the time of the shooting and spent weeks in a hospital recovering from gunshot wounds to his arm and abdomen, is being represented by his attorney, Joseph Feldman from the Law Offices of Max C. Feldman in Pittsburgh.
“Overall, he just wants people to understand how unnecessary it was and that the political divide in this country has become so great [that] people are literally willing to attend rallies where people are exercising their First Amendment rights and start firing bullets into crowds,” Feldman said.
“He’s 74 years old. He’s been around a long time. He’s witnessed a lot take place in this country. And this is definitely one of the worst things that he’s experienced as an American, and he wants people to understand that it does not have to be like this.”
At the time of this incident, Copenhaver and Trump (and many others on that side of the arena) had been watching live immigration statistics flash across a giant screen to their immediate left.
At that point, Copenhaver remembered touching his arm and realized he was bleeding. He then looked up to see something small and black whizz past him.
“He had almost heard or even seen something kind of whizz past them, which we’re assuming is a bullet. And he … looked down at his arm and … felt pain initially, but he didn’t even realize that he had been shot a second time at that point,” Feldman explained. “He had mentioned that he was in quite a bit of shock at that time. There was a lot of pandemonium. People were screaming. No one really quite knew what was going on right away.”
Right now, Copenhaver and his wife are taking it one day at a time with all of their attention on him getting better, though they remain appreciative for the outpouring of love from friends, family members as well as those who have reached out through letters. The couple in their 50th year of marriage celebrated by his bedside, Feldman said.
David Dutch, 57, was also shot multiple times and survived the assassination attempt but remained in critical condition until last week when he was released.
A 50-year-old husband, father and fire chief at Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Department, died a hero in protecting his family from gunfire.
