Curtis Culwell Center attack

Curtis Culwell Center attack
Curtis Culwell Center
Location	Garland, Texas, U.S.
Coordinates	32°57′34″N 96°38′31″W / 32.95956°N 96.64191°W / 32.95956; -96.64191Coordinates: 32°57′34″N 96°38′31″W / 32.95956°N 96.64191°W / 32.95956; -96.64191
Date	May 3, 2015 (2015-05-03) 6:50 p.m. (UTC−05:00)
Target	American Freedom Defense Initiative exhibition
Attack type	Shooting, terrorist attack
Weapons	Three assault rifles Three handguns
Deaths	2 (both perpetrators)
Non-fatal injuries	1 (security officer)
Perpetrators	Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi
Suspected perpetrators	Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
Motive	Retaliation for depictions of Muhammad

The Curtis Culwell Center attack was carried out by two men who attacked officers with gunfire at the entrance to an exhibit featuring cartoon images of Muhammad at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, Texas on May 3, 2015. The attackers shot a Garland Independent School District (GISD) security officer in the ankle. Shortly after the attackers pulled up and opened fire, both were shot and wounded by a police officer (who was wrongly credited with killing the two men in initial news reports), and eventually killed by four members of a SWAT team.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) claimed responsibility for the attack plot, the first time the militant group took credit for an attack in the United States. ISIL's claim of responsibility has not been verified, and U.S. officials stated that the attack appears to have been inspired, but not directed, by ISIL.

[ The image is reminiscent of Norman Rockwell's Triple Self-Portrait.]] The event, which featured images of Muhammad, was advertised as the "First Annual Muhammad Art Exhibit and Contest", presented by the American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI), or Stop Islamization of America. It was organized by the AFDI together with the David Horowitz Freedom Center's Jihad Watch, run by Robert Spencer. A $10,000 award was offered for the winning cartoon, which was selected from among 350 submissions. The prize was awarded to Bosch Fawstin, a former Muslim and a critic of Islam who submitted six drawings, with the text "You can't draw me!"/"That's why I draw you." He was to collect an award of $12,500. Though images of Muhammad are not explicitly banned by the Quran, prominent Islamic views oppose human images, especially those of prophets. Such views have gained ground among certain militant Islamic groups.