Recently, two gunmen attempted to ambush an event in Garland, Texas,
where political cartoons of ISIS were on display. One suspect, identified
as Elton Simpson by a federal law enforcement source, linked himself to ISIS in
a tweet posted just before the attack. Simpson even had a history with
federal power. The other suspect, identified as Nadir Soofi by two federal
law enforcement officials, was Simpson's roommate in a Phoenix apartment. Simpson
and Soofi never made it inside the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, where a
right-wing Dutch politician who's on an al Qaeda hit list was speaking Sunday
evening. Both of the gunmen were killed by traffic officer.
Investigators haven't revealed what they found in the suspects' apartment, but
comments made by Simpson on social media hint at one possible motive; he linked
himself to ISIS in a tweet posted just before the attack. "May Allah
accept us as mujahideen," the tweet said, adding that Simpson and his
fellow attacker had pledged loyalty to "Amirul Mu'mineen" (the leader
of the faithful) -- a description that CNN terrorism analyst Paul Cruickshank
said likely refers to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi.
I was very shocked when I first read this article. ISIS? Here in the
metroplex? That's crazy! But alas, its happened. This is a stellar example of a
piece of news that doesn't really hit home until it, well, hits home. There's
nothing like an attack on your home turf to make you take things seriously, and
I will definitely be keeping a steadier eye on the working of ISIS. In
addition, this links to the 911 attacks in 2001. The paranoia ensued by the 911
attacks spurred a great sense of nationalism, much in the same way that this
attack has brought the metroplex closer together.
No comments:
Post a Comment