Ian Long, 28, a former machine gunner, wrote how he was "insane" and resented people’s “hopes and prayers” and other tributes after previous massacres.
TMZ has reported Long was holding a gun in one hand and a phone in another as he posted updates on Instagram as the shooting unfolded.
The former machine gunner who reportedly suffered from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) – used an illegally-modified handgun to target drinkers at the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks.
He donned a black trenchcoat and ski mask before storming the bar on a student night to unleash about 30 bullets in a two-and-a-half-minute murder spree.
But just moments before he posted a Facebook message, saying: “I hope people call me insane… (laughing emojis).. wouldn't that just be a big ball of irony?"
Long added: “Yeah.. I'm insane, but the only thing you people do after these shootings is 'hopes and prayers'.. or 'keep you in my thoughts'… every time… and wonder why these keep happening.”
The message has since been deleted and cannot be verified by Sun Online.
Long lived round the corner and was said to have been a regular at the bar where he carried out the mass killing.
One of those killed was 27-year-old Telemachus Orfanos, who had survived the Vegas massacre.
Long began his adult life by enlisting in the Marines and getting married.
Years after a divorce and a discharge, violent arguments with his mother brought a mental health expert to his door.
Long lived with his mum Colleen in a quiet suburb.
Neighbours said they would hear loud, aggressive fights between the two.
Authorities said they visited that ranch-style house only once, in April, after a neighbour reported shouting and crashing sounds.
Cops found Long "was somewhat irate, acting a little irrationally" and called in a mental health specialist, Ventura County Sheriff Geoff Dean said. That specialist assessed Long but concluded he couldn't be involuntarily committed for psychiatric observation.
Despite being concerned he might be suffering from PTSD, he was given the all clear and no help was given.
"Obviously he had something going on in his head that would cause him to do something like this," Dean said.
Neighbour Tom Hanson described Long as an introvert and said he was "dumbfounded" by the massacre.
Long enlisted in the Marines at 18 and was married as a 19-year-old in Honolulu in June 2009, according to military and court records.
His military service lasted nearly five years, and he was honourably discharged with the rank of corporal in 2013, the Pentagon said.
He was part of the infantry, responsible for hauling and shooting machine guns.
The Marine Corps said Long earned several awards, including a Combat Action Ribbon and a Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal.
He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, Third Marine Division in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.
But during his service, Long's marriage fell apart.
He and his wife separated in June 2011, while he was deployed on a seven-month tour in Afghanistan.
The couple cited irreconcilable differences in divorce papers filed in May 2013, two months after Long left the Marines.
Later, he enrolled at nearby California State University, Northridge, last attending in 2016.
Sparse pictures on social media showed a happy Long family.
His mum posted Facebook photos of her son in his military uniform in 2010 and 2011.
She wrote: "My Son is home, well sort of, back in Hawaii, soon to be in Cali come January, hooray!"
Another photo from 2014 shows Ian Long with his arm draped around his mother in front of Dodger Stadium.
The two were wearing Dodgers T-shirts and smiles.
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