Neighbors say shooter had Trump signs in front of his house over the last few years

[Ocelot II]

9. I'm betting the motive wasn't political but personal/emotional.

So often these shooters are young, messed-up guys who have some imaginary or unknown personal grudge or want to do something that will ensure they will be noticed and remembered. It appears that Crooks intended to shoot a lot of people and not just Trump, but shooting Trump as part of the show would ensure he got even more attention than all those school shooters put together (since obviously shooting 30 kids isn't as big a deal as putting a scratch on Trump's ear). The fact that there were Trump signs on his front lawn indicated that one or both parents were supporters; maybe he wanted to shoot Trump just to piss off his parents. Since he didn't have a social media presence that we know of, we might never know (unless his parents know and eventually talk about it).