One of the gunmen who staged an attack at an exhibit of caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad in a Dallas suburb has been identified as Elton Simpson, an Arizona man previously the target of a terror investigation, ABC News said citing a senior FBI official.
One of the gunmen shot dead after opening fire at an exhibition of caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad had been under surveillance for nine years.
Court documents show that Elton Simpson, who was a room-mate of accomplice Nadir Soofi, had been under FBI surveillance since 2006 and was convicted in 2011 of lying to FBI agents over his desire to join violent jihad in Somalia.
Federal authorities began monitoring Simpson in 2006 because he was associated with an individual the FBI believed was trying to set up a terrorist cell in Arizona.
At one point, according to the documents, the FBI tried "unsuccessfully" to put Simpson on a US government no-fly list.
Simpson's father told ABC News his son was "always a good kid" but said they had "some very serious differences."
"We are Americans and we believe in America," Dunston Simpson told ABC News. "What my son did reflects very badly on my family."
The Democratic presidential candidate may also have shown his cards on his choice of running mate.
The US president also shared a post on Twitter accusing Dr Anthony Fauci of misleading the public over hydroxychloroquine.
Fears over an impending second wave of coronavirus dominates Wednesday’s front pages.