Washington, May 4: Texas police shot dead two suspected gunmen at an exhibit near Dallas of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) organised by an anti-Islamic group, in an apparent attempt to trigger violence.
Islam forbids any physical depictions or images of the Prophet (pbuh). Such illustrations are considered blasphemous by Muslims.
The incident happened on Sunday night outside a building where ‘American Freedom Defense Initiative’, a racist group known for its anti-Muslim terrorism, was staging the provocative contest that would award $10,000 for the top depiction.
US media reported that the shooting echoed past attacks in other Western countries against physical depictions of the Prophet (pbuh). In January, gunmen killed 12 people in the Paris offices of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in revenge for its cartoons.
Sunday's attack took place shortly before 7pm in a parking lot of the Curtis Culwell Center, an indoor arena in the suburb of Garland, northeast of Dallas.
Geert Wilders, an extremist Dutch politician and anti-Islamic campaigner, who is known for promoting racism and religious hatred, was a key speaker at the event.
Police said they had not immediately determined the identity of the two gunmen or whether they were linked to critics of the event.
"I have no idea who they are, other than they're dead and in the street," city police spokesman, officer Joe Harn, told media.
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