The 20-year-old gunman who attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania lived in a relatively affluent suburb in the South Hills region of Pittsburgh, about an hour’s drive from the site of the rally.

The neighborhood in Bethel Park where the shooter, identified by the FBI as Thomas Matthew Crooks, grew up is “pretty firmly middle class, maybe upper-middle class,” Dan Grzybek, who represents the area on the county council, said in an interview Sunday.

Grzybek briefly met the gunman’s parents last year when he was canvassing for his run. He did not recall the exact conversation, but he remembered they seemed pleasant and were open to hear his platform.

The gunman was a registered Republican, his mother was a Democrat and his father a Libertarian, a fairly typical mix for the area, Grzybek said.

“You’ve got a large spattering of different backgrounds and ideals, and definitely have a lot of mixed households in Bethel Park,” he said.

Crooks had been working as a dietary aide at Bethel Park Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. Marcie Grimm, the facility’s administrator, said the organization was shocked to learn of his involvement in the shooting, saying that he had “performed his job without concern and his background check was clean.” She declined to discuss further specifics of his employment, saying that center officials were cooperating with law enforcement investigators.

According to a federal law enforcement official, dozens of FBI agents, analysts and evidence technicians from multiple divisions have surged to work the case. The FBI is trying to break into the gunman’s cellphone with court approval to learn more about his plans and motive. President Joe Biden said Sunday that officials had not identified a motive.

The FBI has not found a manifesto, and the suspect had never been under FBI investigation. The official confirmed that Crooks did not have an unusual online history for a 20-year-old man. He liked to play chess, video games and was learning how to code, according to a review of his online activities.

Two former classmates who attended Bethel Park High School with Crooks said they had not noticed any obvious warning signs.

One of the classmates, Zach Bradford, said he had taken American history and government classes with him, that he appeared to be “incredibly intelligent” and that his views in high school seemed “slightly right leaning.” Bradford said he remembered a couple of instances in which classmates gave Crooks a hard time, but he was shocked when he heard that Crooks had been identified as the shooter.

“I honestly would’ve never expected this,” he said.

The gunman appears to have graduated in 2022, according to a video recording of that year’s graduation ceremony. School officials did not immediately respond to messages Sunday, and one teacher said the staff had been instructed not to talk to the news media.

The gunman was killed by Secret Service agents Saturday after he fired from “an elevated position” outside the outdoor rally venue where Trump was speaking, according to the Secret Service. An AR-15-type semiautomatic rifle found next to Crooks’ body was purchased by a family member, possibly his father, according to an official briefed on the investigation.

Law enforcement officials found materials for two explosive devices in Crooks’ car and believe they may have found a third at his residence, according to a person with knowledge of the investigation.

Former FBI officials said the bureau’s behavioral analysis unit would try to build out a profile of the gunman to understand his motivations. The FBI, which is running the investigation, will cast a wide net, interviewing friends and family members and scouring the internet for clues he might have left online or in a journal.

“This remains an active and ongoing investigation,” the FBI said in a statement early Sunday.

The gunman did not have a criminal history reflected in Pennsylvania’s public court records. A voter-registration record showed Crooks’ Republican registration, though federal campaign-finance records show he donated $15 to the Progressive Turnout Project, a liberal voter turnout group, through the Democratic donation platform ActBlue in January 2021.

Law enforcement officers closed down all roads leading toward the home of the suspect’s family in Bethel Park. Numerous relatives did not respond to messages seeking comment.

Grzybek, who lives about a half-mile down the same street as the gunman’s family, said the area was in shock.

“Most people just can’t believe that this has happened in our neighborhood,” he said. “I typically walk my dogs every morning, and the number of people that I’ve seen walking through our street, just driving down and just stopping to take video and pictures, I think is pretty remarkable.”

The New York Times News Service