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Curtis Culwell Center attack
Curtis Culwell Center
Location	Garland, Texas, U.S.
Coordinates	32°57′34″N 96°38′31″W / 32.95956°N 96.64191°W / 32.95956; -96.64191
Date	May 3, 2015 6:50 p.m. (UTC−5:00)
Target	American Freedom Defense Initiative members and artists
Attack type	Shooting, attempted terrorist attack
Weapons	Assault rifles
Deaths	2 (both perpetrators)
Injured	1
Perpetrators	Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi
Motive	Retaliation for depictions of Muhammad

An exhibit featuring cartoon images of Muhammad was attacked by two gunmen with assault rifle fire outside the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, Texas on May 3, 2015. Both gunmen were killed by a police officer shortly after pulling up outside the center. A Garland Independent School District (ISD) security officer was shot in the ankle and was released from the hospital. The Islamic State (ISIS) has claimed responsibility for the attack; U.S. law enforcement officials have not confirmed or denied the claim.

Background

Muhammad exhibit and contest

The event was advertised as the "First Annual Muhammad Art Exhibit and Contest", presented by the American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI), or Stop Islamization of America. A $10,000 reward was offered for the winning cartoon, which was selected from among 350 submissions. The prize was awarded to Bosch Fawstin, a former Muslim and critic of Islam who submitted six drawings, with the text "You can't draw me!"/"That's why I draw you." He was to collect an award of $12,500.

The event featured speeches by Pamela Geller, president of the AFDI, and Geert Wilders, a Dutch lawmaker known for his outspoken criticism of Islam. Congressmen Keith Ellison and André Carson, both Muslims, had tried unsuccessfully to block Wilders from entering the United States. Wilders is currently on an Al-Qaeda hit-list following the release of Fitna, a 2008 short film that he wrote.

The event was motivated by the terrorist attack on the satirical weekly magazine Charlie Hebdo nearly four months ago and is the first of a planned annual contest. At the time of the attack, the "First Annual Muhammad Art Exhibit and Contest" exhibit was attended by approximately 200 people.

Depictions of Muhammad

Though images of Muhammad are not explicitly banned by the Quran itself, prominent Islamic views have long opposed human images, especially those of prophets. Such views have gained ground among certain militant Islamic groups. Accordingly, some Muslims take the view that the satire of Islam, of religious representatives, and above all of Muslim prophets is blasphemy punishable by death. According to the BBC, France has seen "the apparent desire of some younger, often disaffected children or grandchildren of immigrant families not to conform to western, liberal lifestyles – including traditions of religious tolerance and free speech". Salafi scholar Muhammad Al-Munajjid indicates that the Islamic concept of Gheerah (protective jealousy) requires that Muslims protect the Prophet Mohammed from blasphemy.

Security preparations

The organizers of the event had paid over $10,000 to a total of forty off-duty police officers and private security guards. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), a SWAT team, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) were all ready in case of any incidents. At the time, there was reportedly "no immediate credible threat" of an attack.

American Freedom Defense Initiative

The AFDI was organized by Geller and Robert Spencer in 2010. The AFDI, which describes itself as a "human rights organization dedicated to free speech, religious liberty and individual rights", is listed by the controversial Southern Poverty Law Center as an anti-Muslim hate group. Geller stated to CNN "Who designated the SPLC as a legitimate authority? They are a radical leftist group who targets patriots, vets and even GOP presidential candidates. They have never named a jihadi group as a hate group."

Curtis Culwell Center

The "First Annual Muhammad Art Exhibit and Contest" event was hosted at the Curtis Culwell Center, rented from the Garland Independent School District. The center previously hosted a fundraiser in January called "Stand With the Prophet in Honor and Respect", which was organized to combat negative stereotypes of Islam. Pamela Geller had spearheaded about 1,000 picketers at that event.

Before the start of the "First Annual Muhammad Art Exhibit and Contest", there were concerns expressed by Garland citizens about the center hosting the event due to potential backlash and retaliation, a sentiment that had also been brought up prior to the "Stand With the Prophet in Honor and Respect" event. However, officials allowed both events to proceed as planned, since the school district was bound by a nondiscriminatory leasing policy. Garland ISD board president Rick Lambert said in January, "The Culwell Center is available for rental as long as you comply with the law. Because it is a public facility, the district is not allowed to discriminate based upon viewpoint."

Attack

Just before the event was set to end at around 7:00 p.m., two men wearing body armor and armed with assault rifles pulled up in a vehicle beside a police car parked next to a barricade set up in front of the center. Seated inside the police car was a Garland traffic police officer and an unarmed Garland ISD security guard. The two gunmen got out of their vehicle and opened fire on the police car, shooting the Garland ISD security guard. The men were then shot and killed by the traffic police officer using his duty .45-caliber Glock pistol. SWAT officers also opened fire on the gunmen. The Garland ISD officer, identified as 58-year-old Bruce Joiner, was shot in the ankle. He was treated at a local hospital and confirmed to be released at 9:00 p.m.

Authorities were worried that the suspects' car could contain an incendiary device; as a precaution, several nearby businesses were evacuated and a bomb squad was called to the scene. Police cordoned off a large area and at least three helicopters circled overhead. An officer dressed in SWAT gear took the stage toward the end of the event and told attendees that a shooting had occurred, stating that one officer and two suspects had been shot. It was later confirmed that there were no explosives inside the vehicle.

Perpetrators

Elton Simpson, aged 30, and Nadir Soofi, aged 34, both natives of Phoenix, Arizona, were identified as the assailants in the attack. They were roommates living in a Phoenix apartment at the time. Simpson had been convicted of a terror-related charge, and supported an ISIS propagandist.

Simpson was the subject of an FBI investigation in 2007, during which it recorded him stating his intent to travel to Somalia and join fellow jihadists. He had caught the FBI's attention due to his ties with Hassan Abujihaad, a former United States Navy sailor who was convicted of disclosing the locations and weaknesses of Navy ships to a jihadist website. In 2010, one day before Simpson was scheduled to travel to Somalia, he was arrested by federal agents. Simpson was convicted of making a false statement involving international and domestic terrorism, and sentenced to three years of probation and a $600 fine in August 2011 after lying to a federal agent about his travel plans, as there was no substantial proof he planned to join a terrorist organization. He was put on the US federal no-fly list.

Simpson converted to Islam while in high school. His lawyer described him as "particularly devout" and "entrenched in Islam", but said he didn't seem a threat to anyone. Simpson was a longtime worshipper at the Islamic Community Center in Phoenix, but according to the mosque's president he stopped showing up months prior to the attack. Simpson asked his readers on Twitter to follow an ISIS propagandist. After the shooting, that ISIS propagandist tweeted: "Allahu Akbar!!!! 2 of our brothers just opened fire."

Minutes prior to the attack, Simpson posted a tweet with the hashtag #texasattack: "May Allah accept us as mujahideen." In his tweet he also said Simpson and Soofi had pledged allegiance to "Amirul Mu'mineen," which terrorism analyst Paul Cruickshank said probably refers to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi.

Soofi's father is Pakistani, and his mother is American. According to his mother, he was born at Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas and lived in Garland until age 3. Soofi was raised as a Muslim by his father. When his parents divorced, he and his brother moved to Pakistan to live with their father and stepmother,, and then later from Pakistan to the US in 1998 to live with his mother. In the 1990s, Soofi attended a private school in Islamabad, Pakistan. Soofi wrote a note four years prior to the attack, in which he asked Allah for forgiveness for every sin – both intentional and unintentional. Soofi had been arrested a number of times for minor offenses, including dangerous driving and unlawful possession of drugs. He was survived by his mother and an eight-year-old son.

ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack, stating on the group's Al Bayan radio station that "two soldiers of the Caliphate executed an attack on an art exhibit in Garland, Texas.... This exhibit was portraying negative pictures of the Prophet Mohammed." ISIS also promised to launch further attacks in the future. There was not initially evidence that the terror group had contact with the perpetrators, though law enforcement groups are investigating a possible link. It is the first time ISIS has claimed responsibility for an attack on U.S. soil.

After the attack, Phoenix police began searching the two assailants' apartment.

Reactions

Following the attack, Texas Governor Greg Abbott released a statement, calling the attack "senseless" and promising there was an investigation underway. He also issued his gratitude to the Garland police officers for their swift action against the assailants. U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson also said that the attack "serves as a reminder that free and protected speech, no matter how offensive to some, never justifies violence of any sort. This attack also underscores the importance of close collaboration between federal, state and local authorities in our Nation's homeland security efforts, as well as public awareness and vigilance." Johnson urged American citizens to not "misdirect" their anger at Muslims. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also condemned the attack in a statement.

Muslim organizations also reacted to the attack. The Council on American–Islamic Relations issued a statement condemning the attack and saying, "Bigoted speech can never be an excuse for violence." Dr. Nasim Rehmatullah, National Vice President of the U.S. chapter of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, also said in a statement, "Violence is never an acceptable response to hate speech, no matter how inflammatory and uncivilized that speech is. While we do not yet know what motivated these shooters, we urge calm and defer to local, state, and federal authorities to peaceably and justly resolve this."

In an interview with CNN, Geller denied that the event was intentionally provocative, criticized the media for not defending the First Amendment, and pointed out that other religions have been similarly offended but do not react violently. Geller later told CNN that the shooting would not stop her and the AFDI from organizing similar events in the future. She said regarding the attack, "Freedom of speech is under violent assault here." She also said that the shooting showed how "needed our event really was."

See also

• Charlie Hebdo shooting
• 2015 Copenhagen shootings
• 2011 Gothenburg terrorism plot (targeting cartoonist Lars Vilks)

References

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56. Real Clear Politics: “Pamela Geller vs. CNN Host on Mohammed Cartoon Contest Shooting: "We're Abridging Our Freedoms So As Not To Offend Savages" May 4, 2015|“Well, it's dangerous because increasingly, we're abridging our freedoms, so as not to offend savages. The very idea that if something offends me, or I don't – or I'm insulted by something, I'll kill you and that way I can get my way, and somehow this is okay with members of the elite media and academia is outrageous”
57. Real Clear Politics: “Pamela Geller vs. CNN Host on Mohammed Cartoon Contest Shooting: "We're Abridging Our Freedoms So As Not To Offend Savages" May 4, 2015| "When Jesus Christ was put in a jar of urine it was called art. Did Christians like it? Of course not. Did they slaughter people? Did they burn embassies? Did they kill whole communities? Of course not. This cannot be sanctioned. This cannot be sanctioned. The West must stand up for freedom of speech. It's the core, fundamental element of this constitutional republic."
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External links

• American Freedom Defense Initiative, site with video of the contest event

• 2015 in Texas
• 2015 crimes in the United States
• Attacks in the United States in 2015
• Crimes in Texas
• Depictions of Muhammad
• Garland, Texas
• Islamic terrorism in Texas
• People shot dead by law enforcement officers in the United States
• Terrorist incidents in Texas
• Terrorist incidents in the United States in 2015
• Terrorist incidents connected to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant