Nadir Soofi: Texas Gunman Described As A ‘Cool Kid’ And A ‘Ladies’ Man’


Nadir Soofi, one of the gunmen in this week’s shooting at an event that displayed cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed, is being described by those who knew him as a well-liked individual.

According to the Agence-France Presse, via Yahoo! News, some of Soofi’s peers from the International School of Islamabad were shocked to hear that he was one of the gunmen at the shooting in Garland, Texas, earlier this week. One of his classmates, who remained anonymous, described Soofi as being “quite suave and charismatic,” as well as a “ladies’ man,” and he never appeared to have any extremist views on the world.

“Whatever fundo [fundamentalist] indoctrination occurred, [it] happened after he graduated and moved to USA — here he was simply a cool kid with a bright future.”

Nadir Soofi, his brother, and their mother had moved to America in 1998 after his parents divorced. According to the Los Angeles Times, Soofi was a pre-med student at the University of Utah from 1998 until 2003, but he never completed the program.

After his years in college, Soofi relocated to Phoenix, Arizona, where he opened numerous businesses that never really succeeded. Soofi also fathered a child with his girlfriend in 2006, but the couple ended their relationship afterward.

Speaking to the Los Angeles Times, Nadir Soofi’s mother, Sharon Soofi, had a lot of positive things to say about her son.

“He was outgoing, he was intelligent, he did well in school; he just had a normal American upbringing… He even told me himself that he had a very good life that was provided for him by his parents.”

Soofi had told the Agence-France Presse that she was unaware of her son’s conversion to Islam until she saw posts he made on social media.

“I had noticed on Facebook that he had become Islamic but never thought to such extremes.”

Nadir Soofi and his partner, Elton Simpson, both opened fire at an event coordinated by conservative blogger Pamela Geller, as the Inquisitr previously reported. One security guard was wounded before both gunmen were shot dead by officers.

Authorities are currently trying to determine if Soofi and Simpson had any connection to ISIS. The terrorist group noted in a statement that it claimed responsibility for the attack.

“The attack by the Islamic State in America is only the beginning of our efforts to establish [a governance] in the heart of our enemy.”

[Photos: Ben Torres/Getty Images and Twitter]

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