Mohammed cartoon gunmen killed in Texas

[Otherside]

Mohammed cartoon gunmen killed in Texas

By Jared Christopher
May 4, 2015, 7:33 pm

Police have shot dead two gunmen outside a Prophet Mohammed cartoon contest in Texas attended by Dutch far-right politician Geert Wilders.

The right-wing American Freedom Defence Initiative (AFDI) organised the event in a suburb of Dallas, featuring Wilders, who has been outspoken against Muslims and is targeted by radical groups.

A police officer has been shot outside a Dallas building where a cartoon contest was being held.

Police said two men drove up to the conference centre in Garland, Texas, and began shooting at a security guard.

"Garland Police officers engaged the gunmen, who were both shot and killed," the city of Garland said in a statement.

The security guard was shot in the ankle and was treated at a hospital and released, the city said.

Local police said the shootout lasted "seconds," and organisers said they had prepared extra security for the event due to the general risk of an attack.

Wilders has long been targeted by Islamists because of his extreme views on Islam.

"I am shocked. I just spoke for half an hour about the cartoons, Islam and freedom of speech and I had just left the premises," Wilders said in an email.

"This is an attack on the liberties of all of us!" Wilders wrote, adding: "I hope it is not connected to death list (of) Al-Qaeda." He added that he was safe with police.

Many Muslims find depictions of the Prophet Mohammed offensive.

Cartoon images of the Prophet Mohammed were published in French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo in Paris, where Islamist gunmen killed 17 people during three days of attacks in January, including 12 at the magazine itself.

The identities of Sunday's shooters have yet to be confirmed, but the SITE Intelligence Group reported that an Islamic State (IS) fighter claimed on Twitter that the shooting was carried out by two pro-IS individuals.

In a series of tweets, 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.

About 200 people were inside the event, said local police spokesman Joe Harn.

He said the first suspect was shot dead immediately, while the second was shot after reaching for his backpack.

A hotel in the suburban area was evacuated, and nearby roads were closed off, local residents said.

AFDI, criticised for promoting anti-Islamic views, offered a $10,000 prize for the winner of the cartoon contest that was billed as a "free speech" event.

AFDI co-founder and political activist Pamela Geller called the shootings a "war on free speech."

"What are we going to do? Are we going to surrender to these monsters?" she wrote on her website.

"The war is here."