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Texas gunmen goofed, shot dead by SWAT

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Two gunmen who attacked a cartoon contest of the prophet Mohammed in Garland Texas, U.S virtually walked into the arms of a SWAT team that was close to the area waiting for any such eventuality.

The contest featuring controversial images of the Prophet turned deadly Sunday night when the two men pulled up in a car and opened fire. Police returned fire, killing both men after one wounded a security guard.

None of the approximately 200 people attending the event were hurt.

A federal law enforcement source told CNN that one of the two men was a Phoenix resident who was convicted in 2011 of a terror-related charge. Elton Simpson is thought to have sent a tweet before the attack that read, in part, “May Allah accept us as mujahideen”. It bore the hashtag, #texasattack.”

The attack bears similarities to the attacks earlier in the year on events in France and Denmark featuring images of Mohammed, which some Muslims believe is blasphemous.

The Texas event was organised by the American Freedom Defense Initiative — considered an anti-Muslim group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups.

The keynote speaker at the event in Garland was right-wing Dutch politician Geert Wilders, who was placed on an al Qaeda hit list.

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