One of the gunmen who opened fire outside the Muhammad Art Exhibit and Cartoon Contest Sunday tweeted before the attack his devotion to Allah.
Elton Simpson, who along with his accomplice was shot dead by police, has been identified as one of two gunmen responsible for the attack Sunday night outside the contest, according to CNN.
Before the attack, Simpson tweeted: “May Allah accept us as mujahideen” under the #texasattack hashtag. His Twitter account has since been deleted. CNN reported that Simpson may have ties to ISIS.
The event was a competition to illustrate the Prophet Muhammad held by the controversial group American Freedom Defense Initiative. It was attended by approximately 200 people and offered a grand prize of $10,000.
AFDI is considered by many to be an anti-Muslim group. It is led by Pamela Geller, who sprung to media attention during the Ground Zero mosque debate and has been outspoken about Islam in America.
“The Islamic jihadis are determined to suppress our freedom of speech violently,” Geller told CNN after the shooting. “They struck in Paris and Copenhagen recently, and now in Texas.”
Her group recently sparked a free speech debate by purchasing ads in New York City that read, “Killing Jews is Worship that draws us close to Allah.” New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority objected to the posters on subway platforms and buses, but a judge ruled that it couldn’t block the AFDI from displaying them.
Police are expected to hold a press conference Monday morning on the shooting.