Drawn to shoot em up video games, guns, failed to make the grade where he aspired (mil.), violence toward family, in between cultures, lack of boundaries with women and violence, gets in line when needed, legal status pending in court, socially awkward, recent household changes (moving, distancing from family) and sold/used drugs according to a friend.
If not exactly all, some of these attributes are similar to the Chattanooga shooter, the recent NJ/NY bomber, and the Orlando shooter. The one thing that stands out to me is that they all three had run-ins with the law and went through court not too long before their attacks.
There are no known reasons thus far to think any of these are linked, or that others were involved, or that they were somehow directly and individually advised or assisted where to attack, to be clear. The following is complete and utter out there speculation.
That said, if they did have links not yet known, and the attacks have some common coordination, method of planning, building of a profile, then could ending up in court a few months prior to the attacks, could that be a way of clearing whether they are on the radar or not?
Could that be one of the tactics the so called "lone wolves" use to vet themselves for being on the radar or not before they become operational?
Could they be making a deliberate effort there after, once the potential attacker is known to be off the radar, to build the profile of a lone wolf to avoid detection of a network assisting them and to sow even more fear that just any nut can act following their online exhortations?
Considering all the plots LE thwarted last year before they happened, as well as stopping others before they left to join jihadi groups, could it be an adaptive tactic?
The following contain various details about him through friends, SM, and others who knew him.
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-washington-shooting-20160925-snap-story.html
http://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Details-emerging-of-mall-shooting-suspect-9284045.php
http://heavy.com/news/2016/09/arcan...nic-isis-islamic-state-claim-motive-telegram/
http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle...oting-described-as-socially-awkward-troubled/
http://www.goskagit.com/news/mall-s...cle_dfef3170-8369-11e6-b7ab-c7f548f544d2.html
Common aspects of hits that seem to be repeating: fashion (in Macy's, by JC Penny, NY failed ax attack), life style & culture (beaches, a gay club, failed Times Square, 27th St.?), soft military/LE targets (Chattanooga, LE couple in France, failed the race in NJ, and others), and retaliatory (cartoons), and Christian symbols (the priest in France, failed car bomb in Paris placed by the women, and Chelsea).