Two gunmen have been shot dead outside a controversial exhibition featuring cartoon depictions of the Prophet Muhammad in Dallas in Texas, US authorities say.
The shooting was reported shortly before 7pm local time on Sunday outside the Curtis Culwell Center in the Dallas suburb of Garland.
The two armed suspects drove up to the front of the building in a car as the event, called the Muhammad Art Exhibit, was coming to an end, and began shooting at a security officer, the city said in a message posted online.
Garland police officers then exchanged fire with the gunmen and both suspects were shot dead, the city said.
The security guard was shot in the ankle in the gunfire, but his injuries were not considered serious and he has already been discharged from hospital.
A police bomb squad is reportedly at the scene and is inspecting the dead gunmen’s car.
A Garland police spokesman, Joe Harn, said there was a large police presence already at the scene, as police “had prepared for this event, in case something like this happened”.
Al Jazeera‘s Heidi Zhou-Castro, who is near the scene of the shooting, said an area of about a kilometre radius around the incident had been locked down, following reports that a third suspect was seen near a shopping centre.
A New York-based group called the American Freedom Defense Initiative had claimed it was exercising its right of free expression in running the contest.
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