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Two gunmen shot dead outside Muhammad cartoon contest in Texas

Xinhua, May 4, 2015 Adjust font size:

Two gunmen were shot dead by police officers after they opened fire outside a contest for cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad at a school arena in north Texas on Sunday evening, authorities said.

The two suspects, whose identities have not been released, drove up to the Culwell Event Center in Garland, got out of the vehicle and started shooting when the "Draw Muhammad" contest was coming to an end, the city of Garland said in a statement posted on its Facebook page.

An unarmed security guard was hurt by the gunmen who were then gunned down by police officers securing the arena. The guard's injuries were not life-threatening and he has been released from hospital, according to the statement.

A bomb squad was at the scene examining the gunmen's vehicle. No one was allowed to leave the school arena. Nearby businesses, including a Walmart and Sam's Club, were evacuated, the Dallas Morning News reported.

Authorities cannot confirm immediately if the shooting was directly related to the controversial cartoon contest, which has drawn criticism from the Muslim community since it was made known. Physical depictions of the Prophet Muhammad are deemed blasphemous by Muslims.

The contest was organized by the New York-based American Freedom Defense Initiative, listed as an anti-Muslim organization by the Southern Poverty Law Center which tracks hate groups.

It would award 10,000 U.S. dollars for the best cartoon. Around 200 people attended the event, most of them from out of Texas.

The organizers paid to have 40 police officers deployed around the arena to boost security after a deadly attack killed 12 people at satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris in January. Another deadly shooting occurred the following month at a free speech event in Copenhagen featuring an artist who had caricatured the prophet. Endi