One of two gunmen shot dead at an event in Texas
exhibiting cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad had been a terror suspect, court
documents show.
Elton Simpson had been under surveillance since 2006 and was convicted in
2010 for lying about plans to go to Somalia, the files reveal.
He had shared a flat in Arizona with the person named by authorities as the
other gunman, Nadir Soofi.
Both were shot after opening fire at a conference centre near Dallas.
Simpson's family has said that there was no sign he was planning to carry
out such an attack.
"We are sure many people in this country are curious to know if we had
any idea of Elton's plans. To that we say, without question, we did not,"
said a statement issued through lawyers in Phoenix.
The statement, made on behalf on unnamed family members, said his relatives
were "heartbroken and in a state of deep shock".
Fine and
probation
On Monday FBI agents searched Simpson and Soofi's home in Phoenix and a
white van parked outside.
According to Arizona court documents published in the US media, Simpson was
charged in 2010 with lying to FBI agents about planning to go to Somalia to
engage in violent jihad, or holy war.
A judge found him guilty of making a false statement and he was sentenced
to three years probation and a $600 (£400) fine.
The judge ruled there was insufficient evidence that the false statement
involved international terrorism.
The car
was searched for explosives after the two gunmen were shot dead
The court document also showed that Simpson had been under investigation
since 2006 because of his association with an individual the FBI believed was
trying to set up a terrorist cell in Arizona.
Simpson had told an informant in 2009 that it was "time to go to
Somalia", adding: "We gonna make it to the battlefield."
He later said he was planning to travel to South Africa and then on to
Somalia.
The incident on Sunday unfolded when a car drove into the car park of the
Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, a city near Dallas, where a Muhammad Art
Exhibit organised by the controversial American Freedom Defense Initiative
(AFDI) was being held.
The conference included a contest that offered a $10,000 (£6,600) prize for
a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad. Depictions of the Prophet Muhammad are
offensive to many Muslims.
Political activist Pamela Geller described
the controversial event as defending freedom of speech
The two men in the car opened fire with assault rifles on two security
officers, Garland police said.
One of the officers, a traffic policeman, returned fire and killed both
gunmen, police spokesman Joe Harn said.
The security officer who with him was shot in the lower leg. He was treated
in hospital and released.
A bomb squad searched the suspects' vehicle and set off several controlled
explosions. They found additional ammunition but no bombs, Mr Harn said.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott called the attack a "heinous crime"
and said he was being briefed by state authorities.
The AFDI is run by controversial blogger and activist Pamela Geller who
said she was standing up for free speech, adding: "This terrible incident
reflects the need for such conferences."
One of the keynote speakers at Sunday's event was the Dutch politician
Geert Wilders, an outspoken critic of Islam in Western societies.
There were widespread protests in 2006 when the Danish newspaper
Jyllands-Posten published cartoons satirising the Prophet Muhammad.
In January this year, 12 people were
murdered by two Islamist gunmen at the French magazine Charlie Hebdo,
which had published similar cartoons.
And a gathering of free speech activists
in the Danish capital Copenhagen was
targeted by a gunman in February, killing a film director.
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