I wonder if he is one of the resettled refugees. Perhaps the girl at the perfume counter dissed him. He looks kind of spaced out walking in, like on a mission. Too bad he did not wait around for suicide by cop.
The 22 rifle is a bit baffling. I would expect a “terrorist” or narco seller to have an AK, a street thug to have a “nine” but a 22 cal seems a bit unusual for shooting someone close range. Reports say he left the gun? My sense is it is stolen as I don’t see someone leaving a gun knowing it could be traced to them if legally bought.
For a personal dispute it seems like he would just walk in with a handgun in his pocket and use that.
“Perhaps the girl at the perfume counter dissed him. He looks kind of spaced out walking in, like on a mission. Too bad he did not wait around for suicide by cop.”
I think we are looking for clues and ignoring the obvious: Perhaps he is a radicalized jihadi and used the method he would be familiar with. He walks in shoots as many rounds randomly as he had available, put the gun down and fled before anyone could get the cops there, ran off by a pre-planned escape route before any police response could arrive. Terror spread, attack successful and he disappears to fight again. He will be a hero in his world.