Shots Fired At Controversial Texas Art Exhibition
Two gunmen have been killed and a school security officer wounded when shots were fired earlier tonight at a controversial event, showcasing cartoon depictions of the Prophet Mohammed at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, Texas, according to CBS.
The event, billed as “Draw the Prophet” and hosted by New York-based group American Freedom Defense Initiative (also known as Stop Islamization of America and defined as “an extreme right-wing Islamophobic organization”) promised a $10,000 cash prize for the best drawing of the Prophet Mohammed — an act which is strictly forbidden by Islamic texts and which has drawn violent responses before, including the Charlie Hebdo shooting, as previously reported on by the Inquisitr.
Tonight’s “Draw the Prophet” event drew a crowd of about 200 when shots were fired at approximately 7 p.m. A police officer in full SWAT gear took the stage and informed attendees that a shooting had occurred, that one officer and two suspects had been shot, and that they were locking down the center with attendees inside.
As NBC Dallas-Fort Worth reports, two armed men (who remain unidentified) pulled up to the center, exited their vehicle, and opened fire on Garland ISD Police officer Bruce Joiner, who remains in hospital at this time with non-life-threatening injuries, having taken one shot in the leg. Local businesses, including a nearby Walmart, were promptly evacuated and SWAT members began searching parked vehicles for explosives after initiating the lock down.
Pamela Gellar, co-founder and president of the AFDI (called “extremist” and a “hate group” by the Southern Poverty Law Center), tweeted shortly after the shots were fired.
The event was billed as an effort to stand up against violent intimidation by the AFDI. Gellar followed her previous tweet (hashtagged #jihad) with another, declaring that they (and by extension, we) are at war.
Bob Price of Breitbart was attending the event and also weighed in on Twitter after the shots were fired.
While in lockdown, audience breaks into song and prayer. National Anthem an God Bless America pic.twitter.com/ufgR8BOOpr
— Bob Price (@BobPriceBBTX) May 4, 2015
Almost two months before the event took place, the Huffington Post reflected that the event was “shameless Muslim-baiting” and one of many in a long list of anti-Muslim demonstrations orchestrated by Geller. The Southern Poverty Law Center calls her the “anti-Muslim movement’s most visible and flamboyant figurehead. She’s relentlessly shrill and coarse in her broad-based denunciations of Islam.”
It appears that Geller may have succeeded entirely too well in “Muslim-baiting” this time, drawing literal fire with three people shot in the wake of the ill-fated “Draw the Prophet” event.
Do you think it was worth the cost?
