The attempted attack during Saturday night’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner has surprised many who knew the shooter, including his former professor.

According to his LinkedIn, Californian gunmen Cole Allen earned a bachelor’s degree in 2017 in mechanical engineering from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. Later, he earned a master’s degree in computer science from the California State University Dominguez Hills last May.

There were no signs Allen would commit such an act of violence, according to Bin Tang, a computer science professor at CSU Dominguez Hills.

“He was a very good student indeed, always sitting in the first row of my class, paying attention, and frequently emailing me with coursework questions,” Tang said.

“Soft-spoken, very polite, a good fellow. I am very shocked to see the news,” he added.

A 2017 television news story resurfaced on social media showing Allen in his senior year of college being interviewed. In the clip, Allen had developed a prototype for a new type of emergency brake for wheelchairs.

The 31-year-old man from Torrance was also involved in education in other ways. He reportedly worked for C2 Education, a company that offers admissions counseling and test preparation services to high school students.

Some of the students expressed shock at the news.

“He seemed like a completely average guy,” high school senior Max Harris, who said he was tutored by Allen, told the New York Times. “Like, I never would have expected anything like this from a guy like him.”

Allen sent a chilling anti-President Trump manifesto to his family just before opening fire — calling himself the “Friendly Federal Assassin” and revealing he was hell-bent on killing Trump administration officials.

He rushed through a security checkpoint before being tackled by security officials and is currently being detained.