Two shot dead at Muhammad cartoon event in Texas

• Authorities in this Dallas suburb say two armed men who opened fire on a security officer outside of a contest for cartoon depictions of the Prophet Muhammad Sunday were killed.

The city of Garland said in a statement posted on its Facebook page Sunday night that the men drove up to the Curtis Culwell Center and began shooting at a security officer.

The statement said Garland Police officers engaged the gunmen, who were both shot and killed. The statement did not say whether the shooting was related to the event.

The Facebook posting warned that the gunmen’s vehicle may contain an “incendiary device.” A bomb squad was on the scene late Sunday and nearby businesses were evacuated.

The American Freedom Defense Initiative was hosting a contest that would award $10,000 for the best cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad.

Such drawings are deemed insulting to many followers of Islam and have sparked violence around the world. According to mainstream Islamic tradition, any physical depiction of the Prophet Muhammad — even a respectful one — is considered blasphemous.

In January, 12 people were killed by gunmen in an attack on the Paris office of the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, which had lampooned Islam and other religions and used depictions of Muhammad.

Pamela Geller, president of the American Freedom Defense Initiative, said she planned the event to make a stand for free speech in response to the outcries and violence over drawings of Muhammad.

Geller’s group is known for mounting a campaign against the building of an Islamic centre blocks from the World Trade Center site and for buying advertising space in cities across the U.S. criticizing Islam.