Dayton mass shooter Connor Betts was reportedly spotted carrying a gun and protesting at a Ku Klux Klan rally earlier this year.

The 24-year-old was among the 500 to 600 counter-protesters who attended the May 25 event in opposition of the KKK, according to the Dayton Daily News.

He spoke briefly with a reporter — wielding a semi-automatic, AR-style gun similar to the one he used in this past weekend’s shooting, the newspaper says.

Betts was wearing sunglasses and a bandanna at the time, which reportedly covered his face. There were only nine KKK members in attendance for the rally.

Betts, a registered Democrat who was said to have been pro-gun control, slaughtered nine people this past weekend and wounded dozens more outside a string of bars in Dayton. He was shot and killed by police.

Authorities have said that Betts “was exploring violent ideologies” before the shooting. Former classmates described him as a sick and twisted individual, who often talked about torturing and killing people. He allegedly made “hit lists” of students he wanted to rape and murder in high school and was also in a “pornogrind” band — which released songs about rape, murder, necrophilia and other gruesome acts against women.

“He knew it wasn’t normal,” recalled one student earlier this week.

“He would cry to me sometimes,” another said, speaking to The Washington Post. “How he’s afraid of himself and afraid he was going to hurt someone one day. It’s haunting now.”