Authorities investigate background of Muhammad cartoon attackers
Print Edition
A MAN whose social media presence was being scrutinized by federal authorities was one of two suspects in a shooting at a Texas cartoon contest featuring images of the Prophet Muhammad. The Islamic State group yesterday claimed responsibility for the attack.
An audio statement on the group’s Al Bayan radio station said “two soldiers of the caliphate” carried out Sunday’s attack in the Dallas suburb of Garland.
It was the first time that IS, which frequently calls for attacks against the West, had claimed responsibility for one in the United States.
The gunmen, whom federal officials identified as Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi, wounded a security officer before they were shot and killed.
The cartoon contest had been expected to draw outrage from the Muslim community. According to mainstream Islamic tradition, any physical depiction of the prophet is considered blasphemous, and drawings similar to those featured at the Texas event have sparked violence around the world.
Simpson and Soofi were wearing body armor, and one shot the security officer in the leg.
On Monday, Garland police spokesman Joe Harn said that a single Garland police officer subdued the two gunmen but that after his initial shots, commando officers nearby also fired at the two men. Harn said police don’t know who fired the lethal shots.
Simpson, of Phoenix, was arrested in 2010 after a four-year terror investigation. But despite an investigation that involved more than 1,500 hours of recorded conversations, including Simpson’s discussions about fighting nonbelievers for Allah and plans to link up with “brothers” in Somalia, the government prosecuted him on only one minor charge — lying to a federal agent. He faced three years of probation and US$600 in fines and court fees.
Described as quiet and devout, he had been on the radar of law enforcement because of his social media presence, but authorities did not have an indication of an attack.
In a statement, Simpson’s family said it was “struggling to understand” how the incident happened. “We are sure many people in this country are curious to know if we had any idea of Elton’s plans,” they said. “To that we say, without question, we did not.”
Simpson had worshipped at the Islamic Community Center of Phoenix for about a decade, but he quit showing up over the past two or three months, the president of the mosque said.
A convert to Islam, Simpson first attracted the FBI’s attention in 2006 because of his ties to a former US Navy sailor ultimately convicted of terrorism-related charges.
Simpson’s attorney, Kristina Sitton, described him as so devout that he would not even shake her hand and would sometimes interrupt their legal meetings so he could pray. She said she had no indication that he was capable of violence and assumed he just “snapped.”
Less is known about Soofi.
Sharon Soofi, his mother, who lives in a small town southwest of Houston, told The Dallas Morning News she had no idea he would turn to violence.
She said her son was “raised in a normal American fashion” and “was very politically involved with the Middle East. Just aware of what’s going on.”
She told the newspaper he put his son “above everything.” “The hard thing to comprehend is why he would do this and leave an 8-year-old son behind,” she said.
On Monday, federal agents spent hours at a Phoenix apartment complex where the men apparently lived.
Bob Kieckhaver, one of the residents, said one of them was quiet, had a beard and wore an Islamic prayer cap. He said the second man was more open and would greet others. Both men were seen feeding stray cats, he said.
Simpson was quiet, never angry and a regular on the basketball court playing with young members of the mosque, said Usama Shami, the Islamic Community Center president. He said Simpson had been rattled by the FBI investigation.
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