WFAA reports two men opened fire and were then shot in a parking lot outside Curtis Culwell Center in Garland at around 7:00 p.m. Sunday afternoon. No one was allowed to leave the arena and police were working to secure the scene. Nearby businesses, including a Walmart and Sam’s Club store, were evacuated, the Dallas Morning News reports.
SWAT officials said the suspects possibly had explosives on them. SWAT officers were already present at the event at the time of the incident. Some 40 extra officers were assigned to the event.
CBS Dallas-Fort Worth reports one police officer was shot in the leg and transported to a nearby hospital. He is expected to recover.
NBC News reports the Culwell Center was hosting a ‘free speech’ event sponsored by Jihad Watch, an anti-Islam website, and the American Defense Initiative (AFDI), an anti-Muslim hate group co-founded by Pamela Geller, a fiercely pro-Zionist and anti-Islam blogger.
Geller was a speaker at the event. So was Geert Wilders, an ultra-nationalist Dutch politician and self-proclaimed “Islam hater.” AFDI offered a $10,000 prize for the best cartoon depiction of the Muslim ‘prophet’ Muhammad.
Drawing the second holiest figure in Islam (after the supreme deity ‘Allah’, or ‘God’) is highly offensive to many Muslims. In January, gunmen attacked the Paris, France headquarters of Charlie Hebdo, a satirical magazine known for publishing cartoons depicting Muhammad, killing 12 people.
Culwell Center, which is owned by the Garland school district, previously hosted a “Stand with Muhammad” event and allowed the “Draw Muhammad” contest due to a non-discrimination policy, according to the Dallas Morning News.
AFDI, listed as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, previously made headlines for posting anti-Islam advertisements on San Francisco city buses. San Francisco’s transit agency did not want to run the inflammatory ads, but a federal judge previously declared similar material protected free speech.