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Texas Gunman Planned To Join ISIS, Messaged Recruiter On Social Media

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Erica Wenig Contributor
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One of the gunmen who targeted a Muhammed cartoon contest in Texas planned to join the Islamic State and purportedly messaged a recruiter in the weeks prior to the attack.

Elton Simpson reportedly contacted Muhammed “Miski” Hassan after learning about the contest in April, according to the New York Post. “When will they ever learn?” wrote Simpson in a private Twitter message.

“Where are the warriors of this Ummah [community]? It’s time for brothers in the #US to do their part,” responded Miski, an alleged Islamic State recruiter.

Messages reveal Simpson planned to join the Islamic State in Syria last month and tried to recruit others. According to ABC News, Simpson wrote on April 10, “Bring your passport. If you have $4,000, that’s enough to travel with.” But his plans were thwarted after the FBI arrested six Americans for allegedly trying to join the Islamic State.

Earlier in March, Simpson wrote, “Soon you won’t be able to live in America as a Muslim. The noose is tightening,”reports ABC News.

Simpson, 30, and roommate Nadir Soofi, 34, drove heavily armed to the conference center and wounded a security guard before being killed by police officers. The Islamic State terror organization, with territory in Iraq and Syria, claimed responsibility for the attack on its official radio station, calling the attackers “soldiers of the caliphate.”

Just prior to the attack, Simpson tweeted, “May Allah accept us as mujahideen” with the hashtag #texasattack.”

(RELATED: ISIS Claims Responsibility For First Attack On US Soil)

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Erica Wenig