Cameron Ross Burgess, known as just Cam to many friends, was a normal college student at Auburn University who liked to travel to the beach, watch movies and play video games, a former college friend said.

"We were good friends in college," said Chris Call, in an interview with AL.com. "He liked to joke around. He was kind, had an infectious laugh."

But shortly before noon on Saturday, Burgess shot himself with a handgun as he stood near the fence on the north side of the White House, according to the Secret Service. He fired several shots, none at the White House. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump were in Florida at the time.

Burgess, 26, was from Maylene, a small town in Shelby County. He graduated from Thompson High School in 2009 and from Auburn University in 2013, with a degree in psychology.

Call has no idea what could've caused Burgess to commit suicide in such a public place.

"I was surprised, definitely," Call said. "It seemed out of character. It didn't seem real."

Call said he knew Burgess when he worked at the Department of Human Resources in Auburn and he sometimes discussed his work. "He was dealing with really hard situations," Call said. "I'm sure it's stressful. He cared a lot about doing what was best for the children he worked with. He was an incredibly kind person."

Another friend of Burgess, Laura Meadows Terrell, wrote a tribute to him on Facebook:

"Cam was an employee of mine when he lived in Auburn. At DHR, he was tasked with the enormous responsibility of assessing the safety of abused/neglected children and ensuring that their situations were left better than before. He was always a joy to be around. Even in what seemed like the worst of situations, he was always able to bring some light and positivity to those around him. I was remember him being very strong in his Faith. The last time I saw him, he came by my office for a visit. He brought me a Starbucks and we chatted about his future. He seemed genuinely happy and I was thankful for that. I don't know what happened and I'm not in a position to judge. What I do know is that he helped a lot of children in bad situations and I was able to witness that first hand. He definitely earned a few extra jewels in his crown for that. I will hold onto my good memories of sweet Cam."

The Associated Press reported that Burgess most recently lived in Gainesville, Fla., and worked as a clinical case manager at the University of Florida's Child Protection Team, a unit that responds to child abuse over a wide area of central Florida.

An empty handgun case was left on his unmade bed in the Gainesville apartment he shared with two others on a tree-lined street just a few blocks from the University of Florida campus, where he worked helping abused children, AP reported.

There were nine rounds still inside the gun case.

Justin Ford was distraught when told of his roommate's death by an Associated Press reporter, saying he had been texting Burgess for days about rent with no answer. He said he also hadn't heard about the shooting at the White House.

"I must have seen him four days ago or something," Ford said. He said it wasn't unusual for Burgess to leave for a few days at a time. "Sometimes he would just leave and go on a camping trip or something," Ford said.

Ford accompanied an AP reporter inside Burgess' room, and was shocked when he saw the gun case. Ford said the quiet, 6-foot-2, bearded man had been a gentle, generous roommate since he had moved in last August.

"I had no idea about him having a gun," he said.

Ford described Burgess as a traditional conservative and a "gamer," saying he spent hours in his room on his computer. A poster hung on Burgess' bedroom wall for the game Skyrim. A dozen bottles of hard liquor sat next to a computer, AP reported.

"He had friends here, it wasn't like he was some loner," Ford said.

AP quoted Ashley Abell, who said she worked with Burgess at a Baptist-affiliated summer camp for children in Kentucky in 2012. "Cam was always encouraging and he had the best laugh," she said. "He didn't talk a lot, but it didn't cause concern."

A mutual friend said Burgess had battled depression recently, Abell said.

"I would have never expected it from what I knew of his character," she said. "And it made me sad because I didn't keep up with him."

She added, "I worry about why it was in front of the White House."

On his Facebook page, Burgess shared pictures of himself at the beach and having fun with friends. In the only picture featuring a gun, Burgess appears to be target shooting at a pizza box with a hand gun.

"That pizza box isn't getting up..." he wrote.

Call said he didn't remember Burgess talking about weapons.

Call said Burgess had moved away from Auburn and he hadn't spoken to him in about eight months, when they met for lunch. Everything seemed fine with him, he said.

"He was always joking and having a good time," Call said.

When he heard that Burgess had shot himself in front of the White House, "I didn't believe it," he said.

"It didn't make any sense," Call said. "Something changed for that to happen."

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline offers a 24-hour, toll-free suicide prevention service available to anyone in suicidal crisis: call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) to be connected with a crisis center in your area.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.