Gunman in Mohammad cartoon attack in Texas monitored for years

By Jon Herskovitz and David Schwartz GARLAND, Texas/PHOENIX (Reuters) - Federal agents for years monitored one of the two gunmen who were shot dead after opening fire with assault rifles at a heavily guarded Texas exhibit of caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad. 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.

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