The Garland, Texas, police did not receive a warning that Elton Simpson, one of the suspects who opened fire at a Muhammad cartoon event, was planning on attacking the event in Garland.
“We had no information from the FBI or anyone else that Elton Simpson posed a threat to our event,” Garland Police Chief Mitch Bates said at a Monday press conference, according to the Dallas Morning News.
FBI Director James Comey said last week that a few hours before the two gunmen attacked the event, they learned that Simpson might be interested in going to the cartoon contest.
“We developed information just hours before the event that Simpson might be interested in going to Garland,” Comey told reporters.
Comey said that the FBI sent a bulletin to the Garland police with information on Simpson, who had previously been investigated for potential terrorist connections.
Bates said on Monday that the FBI bulletin did not mention Garland or the Muhammad cartoon contest.
“There is a little miscommunication as to the term ‘bulletin’ and what it means,” he said, according to the Dallas Morning News. “It was not intended to inform us or make us aware that Mr. Simpson was potentially targeting this event. He was simply one of many, many individuals they had looked at.”
The police commanders at the event did not receive the email, and a Garland officer working with the FBI task force received the email but did not read it before the shooting.
“Please note that the contents of that email would not have prevented the shooting, nor would it have changed the law enforcement response in any fashion,” Bates said.
During the Monday news conference, Bates also shared additional details on the attack.
When the two gunmen opened fire on officers outside the event, five officers returned fire at the suspects. A traffic officer fired first and hit both suspects. Four members of a SWAT team arrived and shot the suspects, who were still moving at the time, Bates said. The suspects fell as they tried to retrieve additional weapons from their vehicle, according to Bates.
Following the shooting, officers found three assault rifles, three pistols and numerous rounds of ammunition, according to the Dallas Morning News.
