Two Suspects Killed, Officer Injured after Shooting Outside Muhammad Cartoon Contest in Texas

Matt Boster

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Posted by: Matt Boster
Date: May 04 2015 6:02 AM

Two armed men were killed after opening fire on a security guard outside an exhibit of artistic depictions of the Muslim prophet Muhammad in suburban Dallas Sunday evening.

The City of Garland said in a statement posted on its Facebook page that the men drove up to the Curtis Culwell Center and began shooting at the security officer. Garland Police Department officers returned fire, killing both gunmen, the statement said.

The Garland Independent School District, which owns and operates the Culwell Center, identified the wounded security officer as Bruce Joiner in a statement. The statement added that Joiner was shot in the ankle, was treated and released from a local hospital. 

The statement did not say whether the shooting was related to the event, a contest hosted by the New York-based American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI) that would award $10,000 for the best cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad.

Authorities said they were worried that the suspects' car could contain an incendiary device. Several nearby businesses were evacuated as a precaution and a bomb squad was on the scene early Monday. Police had cordoned off a large area and at least three helicopters circled overhead.

The bodies of the gunmen, who have not been identified, still lay where they fell early Monday because they were too close to the car to be removed before the scene was clear, according to Officer Joe Harn, a spokesman for the Garland Police Department.

"Because of the situation of what was going on today and the history of what we've been told has happened at other events like this, we are considering their car (is) possibly containing a bomb," Harn told reporters. He added that police are are not aware of any ongoing threat and had not received any credible threats before the event, Harn said.

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