First Texas shooter reportedly identified

Garland Shooting, Muhammad
AP

Law enforcement officials have identified one of the deceased suspects in the Sunday night shooting at an event in Garland, Texas, as Elton Simpson of Phoenix, according to a media report Monday.

Simpson, who officials identified as one of the two shooters by The New York Times, allegedly opened fire outside of a contest run by a conservative activist for the best cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed in Garland, Texas. Drawings and other depictions of the prophet are considered offensive in many Islamic traditions.

{mosads}Members of law enforcement were reportedly searching his apartment in Arizona.

The Washington Post identified the second gunman as Nadir Soofi, who they said was Simpson’s roommate.

The Times reported that in 2010, federal authorities in Arizona charged someone with the name Elton Simpson with planning to go to Somalia to engage in “violent jihad” and lying to a federal officer. He was found guilty of the latter, according to the paper, and sentenced to probation.

It was not immediately clear whether the suspect in the case was the same Elton Simpson.

A security officer was shot and injured during the shooting, and police shot and killed both gunmen.

This story was updated at 2:28 p.m.

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