Another day, another shooting. Garland, Texas is still in a state of shock after two gunmen opened fire on a crowd at a free speech event yesterday. The two gunmen were shot dead after local police reacted quickly to protect those inside. Now, a day after the violent attack, an investigation has revealed that one of the men involved may have had some serious ties to ISIS. Find out how he’s associated to the terrorist group after the jump!
One of the men who opened fire on a free speech event in Garland, Texas is now believed to have ties with ISIS. Elton Simpson linked himself to ISIS in a tweet posted minutes before the outrageous attack.
“May Allah accept us as mujahideen,” Simpson tweeted, adding that Simpson and his accomplice had pledged loyalty to “Amirul Mu’mineen” or “the leader of the faithful.”
Apparently, federal officials have been tracking Simpson since 2011 after he was convicted of making a false statement involving international and domestic terrorism. The other suspect, Nadir Soofi, was his roommate in Phoenix, Arizona. He wasn’t even a blip on the FBI’s radar.
Simpson and Soofi attacked an event that was hosting a contest for cartoon drawings of the Muslim Prophet Mohammed. The event was already considered controversial, especially since the event’s organizer Pamela Gellar is a well-known Muslim-basher. Fortunately, the gunmen never made it inside the Curtis Culwell Center where the event was held. Garland police were able to take out both suspects before they could harm anyone in the area.
There are several issues that have been put on a pedestal over the past 24 hours. Freedom of speech and religion are clearly under fire. Also, since guns are the center of the problem, officials are now investigating how the two gunmen gained possession of their weapons in the first place. If Simpson’s ties are legitimate, then ISIS may be slowly infiltrating the country indirectly by corrupting US citizens. We’ll keep you updated on this story as it unfolds.
