Texas attacker was a charismatic 'ladies man' before radicalisation

[StarDestroyer]

Texas attacker was a charismatic 'ladies man' before radicalisation

PUBLISHED : Thursday, 07 May, 2015, 6:39am
UPDATED : Thursday, 07 May, 2015, 6:39am

Agence France-Presse in Islamabad

FBI crime scene investigators document the area around two deceased gunmen and their vehicle outside the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, Texas on May 4, 2015. Photo: AP

Nadir Soofi, one of the gunmen who attacked a Texas venue that featured a contest to draw the Prophet Mohammed, was a charismatic "ladies' man" as a teenager, contemporaries from an elite Pakistani school said.

Soofi, 34, and Elton Simpson were shot dead by police on Sunday as they tried to storm the cartoon drawing event.

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility, although US officials caution it is too early to draw a firm link.

Nadir Soofi, after radicalisation.

Soofi was a student at the US$20,000-a-year International School of Islamabad from 1992 to 1998, where contemporaries said he was funny, popular and charming and showed no inclination towards extremism.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, one said Soofi was "quite suave and charismatic" and a "ladies' man" then.

"Whatever fundo [fundamentalist] indoctrination occurred, [it] happened after he graduated and moved to USA - here he was simply a cool kid with a bright future," the contemporary said.

Soofi's mother taught art at the school, several of his contemporaries recalled.

He took part in theatre productions, and another schoolmate said Soofi starred as the lead in Bye Bye Birdie, a musical inspired by Elvis Presley, transforming him from a shy boy into "a confident heartthrob".

Agents work on the scene near to where the men opened fire before they were shot dead by a traffic officer. Photo: Reuters

"He was always good looking, throwing back his long silky hair, but after the play he did, wow - he was Mr Elvis of school," she said.

She added she was shocked by news of what Soofi had done in Texas.

"I had noticed on Facebook that he had become Islamic but never thought to such extremes," she said.

Soofi's parents divorced while they were in Pakistan, two schoolmates said, and he returned to the United States with his mother.

Soofi reportedly attended the University of Utah and later owned a struggling pizza and chicken wing restaurant. Managing his business reportedly meant he sometimes had to skip prayers at the mosque.

The IS claim marked the first time the extremist group, which has captured swaths of territory in Syria and Iraq using brutal methods, has been alleged to have carried out an attack in the United States.

Pakistan, in particular its restive tribal regions on the Afghan border, has long been a favoured destination for would-be Islamist militants from abroad seeking training and guidance.

But there is no suggestion so far that Soofi's time in Pakistan had any influence on his future radicalisation.