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The Federal Bureau of Investigation is gatheringinformation about the two men who opened fireoutside an event last weekend in Garland, Texas. Acurity officer shot and killed the gunmen. Theofficer was wounded in the attack.
The shooting took place near a building where aprivate group was holding a contest. The groupoffered a $10,000 prize for the best depiction ofIslam's Prophet Mohammad. For Muslims, any imageor reprentation of the prophet is considereddisrespectful.
The event was the idea of a group called the American Freedom Defen Initiative, also knownas Stop the
Islamization of America.
Police investigators arched the area where the shooting took place through the night and intothe morning. Joe Harn is with the police department in Garland, Texas. He said police know whathappened on Sunday.
"Two men exited the dark-colored dan. Both of them had assault rifles, came around theback of the c
ar and started shooting at the police car. The police officer in that car beganreturning fire and struck both men, taking them down."
Police ud a robot to examine the suspects' car for explosives. They did not find any.
Later, investigators identified one of the dead men as 31-year-old Elton Simpson. He was bornin the United States. As a young man, he accepted Islam. Police say he shared an
apartmentwith Nadir Soofi, the other gunman, in Phoenix, Arizona.
Court documents say that Elton Simpson had been under investigation since 2006. They say hewas tried and jailed in 2020 for lying to agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He wassuspected of wanting to join Islamic extremists in Somalia.
Federal agents and police arched the men's apartment home in Phoenix. Before carrying outthe attack, Simpson is said to have provided details of his plans on the social media siteTwitter.
The shooting has extended the debate about freedom of speech. Organizers of the contestdescribed it as a free speech event.
Debate about freedom of speech
Pamela Geller was the lead organizer of the event in Garland. She compared the attack to themurder of 12 people earlier this year at Paris offices of the French weekly Charlie Hebdo.
Her group has created public debate over its opinions of Muslims in America. Her supporterssay she speaks the truth about a topic people are too fearful to discuss. Her critics, however,call her a bigot. Oren Segal is with the Anti-Defamation League. The group describes itlf onits website as dedicated to stopping the defamation of the Jewish people and to curejustice and fair treatment to all.
Mr. Segal said Ms. Geller "is one of the leading American anti-Muslim bigots, consistentlyvilifying Muslims and the Islamic faith under the gui of cour of fighting radical Islamists." Hesaid that she does not recognize a difference between Islamic extremists and all Muslims.
Ms. Geller answered criticism against her in an email to VOA.
She wrote that, "It is not bigotry to stand up for the freedom of speech and the freedom ofexpression against tho who would violently suppress it," she wrote. "The ADL apparentlyprefers submission in the face of violent threats to standing up for the liberty and dignity ofthe individual."
The non-profit Southern Poverty Law Center has also condemned Ms. Geller's group.
In 2020, the American Freedom Defen Initiative campaigned against a propod Islamiccommunity center near the former World Trade Center towers in New York City. Terrorists withties to al-Qaida destroyed the towers in 2001. The community center was never built.
On Tuesday, the Islamic State militant group claimed responsibility for the attack Sunday. Therewas no immediate comment from U.S. officials on the group's claim.
