Gunmen in cartoon event shooting linked to Islamic terrorist group

One of the two suspects of the Muhammad cartoon contest shooting in Texas was prosecuted for allegations related to an Islamic terrorist organization, the FBI said on Monday.

Elton Simpson, 30, one of the gunmen who were shot dead by police on the scene, was prosecuted for allegedly lying to investigators when he was heading for Somalia to join a terrorist group in January 2010. But he was sentenced to three years’ probation only for making a false statement. Back then, the court said there was insufficient evidence to conclude the false statement involved international terrorism. A few months ago, FBI agents and Florida police started to monitor him again when he began to write posts related to Islamic State on social networking websites. However, they did not know that he was preparing for attacks, U.S. media said.

Simpson is said to have left a message warning an attack on the cartoon exhibit of the prophet Muhammad using the hashtag #TexasAttack. The Twitter account, which was headed “Shariah is Light,” featured a picture of Anwar al-Awlaki, the leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Yemen in 2011.

Nadir Hamid Soofi, 34, who was shot dead with Simpson, had lived in the same apartment complex. It is not known whether he was involved in an Islamic terrorist group. His Facebook page shows that he graduated from the International School of Islamabad in Pakistan in 1998.

Simpson and Soofi had a shooting outside the Muhammad Art Exhibit and Contest at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, Texas on Sunday. They were shot dead by police after injuring one security guard.

kyle@donga.com