It was 20-year-old Pennsylvanian man, names Thomas Matthew Crooks, shot at former United States president Donald Trump during an election rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, said by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Crooks, who came within inches of killing a presidential candidate, was shot dead by the law enforcement. The incident left a 50-year-old man dead, two other attendees wounded, and Trump’s right ear injured.

According to officials, Crooks slipped onto a rooftop location 150 yards (140 meters) from the stage where Trump was speaking, and began firing an AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle, a weapon legally bought by his father.

But what's shocking to know is, Crooks a  was a registered Republican who would have been eligible to cast his first presidential vote in the presidential elections scheduled to be held on November 5 this year.

He had graduated from Bethel Park High School in 2022 with a reputation of a bright, and quiet classmate, news agency Reuters reported. His high school counselor described him as “respectful,” someone who mostly “kept to himself” and said he never considered Crooks to be political.

The FBI said that his social media profile does not contain threatening language, nor have they been able to find any history of mental health issues. Officials could not arrive at his political leanings, as his social media profiles were devoid of any posts promoting violence or similar activities.

Moreover, Crooks, during his school days, had tried out for the rifle team but was turned away because he was a bad shooter, a current captain of the team told news agency AP. One of his classmates also said in an interview that Crooks’ interests centered on building computers and playing games.

Crooks used to work as a dietary aide at a nursing home, the home’s administrator said in a statement.

According to public records, his father is a registered Republican and his mother a registered Democrat.

The FBI said they were investigating the incident as a potential act of domestic terrorism, but remain unsure of his motives and political beliefs.