ISIS claims responsibility for Garland, Texas, cartoon-show attack

ISIS claims attack for Dallas-area attack

(Image credit: Ben Torres/Getty Images)

published 5 May 2015

On Tuesday, Islamic State's official al-Bayan Radio said that two of its "soldiers of the caliphate" carried out the attack on a cartoon competition in Garland, a suburb of Dallas, because the "exhibit was portraying negative pictures of the Prophet Muhammad." The audio message vowed "even bigger and more bitter" attacks in the future. If authentic (and true), this is the first attack ISIS has claimed credit for inside the U.S.

In the attack, Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi — roommates at an apartment in Arizona — allegedly opened fire at an unarmed guard at Garland's Curtis Culwell Center, and both were quickly shot dead by police. The people inside the exhibit were unaware of the attack until police told them. The FBI had been investigating Simpson since 2006, and accused him of trying to fly to Somalia to wage jihad in 2009; he was given three years of probation.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.