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A so-called “free speech” event in Texas ended in deadly fashion Sunday (May 5) after gunmen swarmed a”Draw Muhammad” contest. In the end, the two gunmen were killed and security guard seriously wounded.

Dallas-Forth Worth NBC affiliate NBCDFW 5 was on the scene in Garland, Texas outside the Curtis Culwell Center, a school arena that often hosts events. According to NBCDFW’s report, the gunmen arrived at the center around 7 p.m. just as it was scheduled to end and opened fire on a security guard. There was a heavy police presence at the “Draw Muhammad” art contest, which halted the advancement of the shooters immediately.

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The security guard, 58-year-old Bruce Joiner, was treated and released from a hospital nearly two hours later, police said. He worked for Garland ISD and was unarmed when he was shot, police spokesman Joe Harn said.

It was not immediately clear whether the shooting was connected to the event inside, a contest hosted by the New York-based American Freedom Defense Initiative that would award $10,000 for the best cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad, Harn said.

But he said at a late Sunday news conference that authorities were searching the gunmen’s vehicle for explosives, saying, “Because of the situation of what was going on today and the history of what we’ve been told has happened at other events like this, we are considering their car (is) possibly containing a bomb.”

The drawing of the Prophet Muhammad is a great offense to those of the Muslim faith, and this incident echoes what happened in France with the Charlie Hebdo shooting. While authorities have yet to connect the shooting with the anti-Islamic overtones that seem present, the event did appear to be designed with inflammatory goals in mind.

The event was sponsored by the American Freedom Defense Initiative, which is known for its anti-Islamic viewpoints according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. There was also an appearance by Dutch political figure Geert Wilders, who has become infamous for his negative views of Muslims.

Watch a video report of the Garland, Texas shooting at the “Draw Muhammad” event below courtesy of CNN.

Photo: NBCDFW