Two gunmen opened fire on Sunday at an art exhibit in Garland, Texas, featuring depictions of the Prophet Mohammad and were themselves shot dead at the scene by police, the city said in a statement.
The shooting, an echo of past attacks or threats in other Western countries on art depicting the Prophet, was reported shortly before 7 p.m. at the Curtis Culwell Center.
The center is a special-events venue that hosts graduation ceremonies, concerts, trade shows, weddings and sporting events in Garland, northeast of Dallas.
Dutch parliamentarian and leader of far-right Party for Freedom, Geert Wilders, delivered the keynote address but left the building before the shootings.
The two armed suspects drove up to the front of the building in a car as the event, called the "Mohammad 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 officer was wounded in the gunfire, but the guard's injuries were not considered life-threatening, according to the statement.
As today’s Muhammad Art Exhibit event at the Curtis Culwell Center was coming to an end, two males drove up to the front... Posted by City of Garland, Texas Government on Sunday, 3 May 2015
There was no immediate word from police or other authorities about the identity or background of the two suspects.
The New York-based American Freedom Defence Initiative had been hosting a contest at the centre with a $US10,000 ($A12,766) prize for the best cartoon depicting the Prophet Mohammed.
The Dallas Morning News reported that critics of the art exhibit had condemned the event as an attack on Islam, but that organisers had said they were merely exercising their right of free expression.
Such drawings are deemed insulting to many followers of Islam and have sparked violence around the world. According to Islamic tradition, any physical depiction of the Prophet Mohammed - even a respectful one - is considered blasphemous.
In January, Islamist gunmen attacked the Paris offices of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in revenge for its cartoons of the Prophet, killing 12 people.
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