ISIS In Texas: 2 Gunmen Dead At ‘Draw Muhammad’ Contest

Soofi, named as the second gunman by the Washington Post, shared an apartment with Simpson at the Autumn Ridge complex in Phoenix.

On Monday morning, FBI agents and investigators could be seen cordoning off and searching the apartment, as well as a white van believed to belong to Simpson. Investigators are also reviewing computer records from materials found at the home.

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Shot dead: Elton Simpson, pictured, was one of the two gunmen who stormed an anti-Islam event on Sunday evening in Texas

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Killed: FBI crime scene investigators look at the bodies of the two killed gunmen outside the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, Texas on Monday. Police killed the two men after they opened fire at an anti-Islam event on Sunday

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Taken away: Personnel remove the bodies of the two slain gunmen, who lived together in Phoenix, Arizona, on Monday

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Investigation: Agents work on the scene near to where the men opened fire before they were shot dead by a traffic officer. Investigators destroyed some of the belongings found inside the back of the suspects’ car, pictured, as a precaution

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FBI investigators collect evidence, including a rifle, where the men were shot dead; police say they intended to open fire on the venue

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Search: Reporters gather near the home of Elton Simpson, one of the suspected attackers, in Phoenix, Arizona on Monday morning

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Raid: Police tape surrounds a vehicle, believed to belong to one of the two gunmen, in Phoenix, Arizona on Monday

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Probe: Investigators pull belongings from the back of the truck and carry items inside the complex on Monday morning

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ISIS supporters claimed on Twitter that one of the gunmen was a man calling himself Shariah Is Light on the social media site

Investigators also searched the car that the two gunmen drove to the scene and found luggage and further ammunition inside. Some of the belongings were destroyed as a precaution but no explosives were found inside the vehicle, Garland Police Officer Joe Harn said on Monday.

On Monday, Simpson’s father said that he believes his son, who had worked in a dentist’s office, ‘made a bad choice’.

‘We are Americans and we believe in America,’ Dunston Simpson told ABC News. ‘What my son did reflects very badly on my family.’

Ahead of the attack on Sunday evening, several Twitter messages were sent out, and authorities believe Simpson was behind them. The last one was shared just half an hour before the shooting.

Followers of ISIS had been calling for an attack online for more than a week after learning that the competition in Garland would feature a ‘draw Muhammad’ art contest, with a prize of $10,000 for the best caricature.

After the attack, the SITE Intelligence Group reported that an Islamic State fighter claimed on Twitter that the shooting was carried out by two pro-Isis individuals.

In a series of tweets and links, a jihadist named as Abu Hussain AlBritani, which SITE said was British IS fighter Junaid Hussain, claimed that ‘2 of our brothers just opened fire’ at the Prophet Muhammad exhibition in Texas.

‘They Thought They Was Safe In Texas From The Soldiers of The Islamic State,’ added the tweet.

Other ISIS supporters claimed on Twitter that one of the gunmen was a man calling himself Shariah Is Light on the social media site, using the now-suspended account name @atawaakul, according to New York Times reporter Rukmini Callimachi.

He had posted a message earlier that said ‘the bro with me and myself have given bay’ah [oath] to Amirul Mu’mineen [ISIS leader Al Baghdadi]. May Allah accept us as mujahideen #texasattack’.

The contest was just minutes from finishing when multiple gunshots were heard.

The two suspects had pulled up in a vehicle before getting out and firing at a security officer, 57-year-old Bruce Joiner, who was employed by the independent school district. He was later taken to hospital in a stable condition and was released on Sunday evening.

The group responsible for the Draw Muhammad event in Garland, Texas is part of a larger network of neocon organizations working behind the scenes to stoke tension between Muslims, Christians and Jews.
Daniel Pipes’ Middle East Forum (MEF) funds David Horowitz’s Freedom Center which in turn funds Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer’s American Freedom Defense Initiative.

MEF is closely linked to the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP), where Pipes was an adjunct scholar. WINEP is a spin-off the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, one of the more influential advocacy groups in the United States dedicated to promoting Israeli policies in Washington, including confronting Iran and Arab nations opposed to Israel and its policies in regard to the Palestinians.

Additionally, MEF is linked to the American Enterprise Institute, a think tank that played an instrumental role in promoting the invasion of Iraq. Its board of trustees is a virtual who’s who of the financial and corporate elite. Former Vice President Dick Cheney, who led the propaganda charge into the lead up to invasion and its disastrous result — more than a million dead Iraqis — figures prominently on the board.