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 Two government sources who asked not to be named said the gunmen
were roommates Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi, of Phoenix. Court
documents show Simpson had been under surveillance since 2006 and
was convicted in 2011 of lying to FBI agents over his desire to join
violent jihad in Somalia.
FBI agents and police searched the two men's home at the Autumn
Ridge Apartments in north-central Phoenix on Monday, cordoning off
the complex and evacuating residents for several hours.
The shooting in the Dallas suburb of Garland was an echo of attacks
or threats in other Western countries against images depicting the
Prophet Mohammad. In January, gunmen killed 12 people in the Paris
offices of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in what was said
to be revenge for its cartoons.
The Syria- and Iraq-based Islamic State on Tuesday claimed
responsibility on its official online radio station, saying "two
soldiers of the caliphate" carried out the attack. Experts warn that
militant groups have been known to claim credit for attacks with
which they were never involved.
 The Texas incident unfolded on Sunday when a car drove up behind an
indoor arena in Garland, where 200 people were attending an event
featuring caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad. Such portrayals are
considered offensive by Muslims.
Two men jumped from the car and fired at a police car that was
blocking an arena parking lot entrance. A Garland police officer and
an unarmed security guard were in the squad car and began to exit as
the vehicle approached. The gunmen wounded the security guard, and
the police officer returned fire, killing both assailants.
CNN reported that SWAT officers also opened fire on the suspects
during the shootout, citing an anonymous source with knowledge of
the incident.
Those inside the Curtis Culwell Center, who had gone through heavy
security to enter the event, were not aware of the attack until
afterward.
"At this point it does seem clear that an officer of the Garland
Police Department acted quickly and decisively and thereby likely
saved a number of innocent lives," U.S. Homeland Security Secretary
Jeh Johnson said in a statement.
Police and federal agents had planned security for months ahead of
the event, organized by American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI),
a free-speech organization that the Southern Poverty Law Center has
described as a hate group, and which paid $10,000 for extra
protection.
The event, the "Muhammad Art Exhibit and Contest," offered a $10,000
prize for the best artwork or cartoon depicting the Prophet. Artist
Bosch Fawstin won for a depiction of a sword-wielding Prophet in a
turban shouting, "You can't draw me." [ID:nL1N0XV2F9]
 The AFDI has, among other activities, sponsored anti-Islamic
advertising campaigns in transit systems across the country.
The shooters wore protective gear and had extra ammunition in their
car, Garland police spokesman Joe Harn said. Police feared there may
have been explosives in the vehicle, but no bomb was found.
"Obviously they were there to shoot people," Harn said at a news
conference.
A bomb squad, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, a SWAT team and
the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives had
been involved in preparations for security around the exhibit,
Garland police said.
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In Phoenix, policed searched the men's apartment and a white van
parked outside, with its side windows broken.
Bob Kieckhafer, 54, who lives one floor above and across from their
apartment, said FBI and other law enforcement in SWAT gear evacuated
people in the building at 11 p.m. Sunday and did not let them back
until 4 a.m. Monday.
He described the men who lived in the apartment as "just like your
next-door-neighbor type of guys."
WANTED TO JOIN JIHAD
Simpson was charged in 2010 with lying to FBI officials over
discussions he had with an informant about his desire to travel to
Somalia to engage in violent jihad and waived his right to a jury
trial.
U.S. District Judge Mary Murguia in 2011 found him guilty of making
a false statement. She found insufficient evidence to conclude the
false statement involved international terrorism.
Simpson was sentenced to three years probation and ordered to pay
$600 in fines and penalties.
The court documents say federal authorities began monitoring Simpson
in 2006 because he was associated with an individual the FBI
believed was trying to set up a terrorist cell in Arizona.
At one point, according to the documents, the FBI tried
"unsuccessfully" to put Simpson on a U.S. government no-fly list.
Simpson's father told ABC News his son was "always a good kid" but
said they had "some very serious differences."
"We are Americans and we believe in America," Dunston Simpson told
ABC News. "What my son did reflects very badly on my family."
U.S. government sources close to the case said investigators are
scouring electronic communications sent and received by the dead
suspects for evidence of contacts between them and militant groups
overseas, most notably Islamic State.
(Additional reporting by Mark Hosenball in Washington, D.C., Nancy
Wiechec in Phoenix, Lisa Garza and Laura Buckman in Garland, Texas,
Colleen Jenkins in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Mary Wisniewski in
Chicago, Julia Edwards aboard Air Force One, and Ahmed Tolba in
Cairo, Egypt; Writing by Fiona Ortiz and Ian Simpson; Editing by
Janet Lawrence, Leslie Adler and Jeffrey Benkoe)
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