No one was allowed to leave as surrounding businesses, including a Wal-Mart and Taco Bell, were evacuated as authorities searched for two more devices.
Those inside started to sing patriotic songs, including the national anthem and God Bless America, and said a prayer for the injured security guard after one woman pulled out an American flag form her bag.
Two suspects pulled up in a vehicle with with explosives, before getting out and firing at the officer, identified as 57-year-old Bruce Joiner, who was employed by the independent school district. Mr Joiner was taken to hospital in a stable condition and was released later on Sunday evening.
The pair were then killed by Garland Police officers.
Garland Mayor Douglas Athas told CNN the first suspect was shot immediately while the second was wounded when he reached for his back pack, and then shot again.
The attack unfolded shortly after Dutch member of parliament and leader of the far-right Party for Freedom, Geert Wilders, had delivered his keynote speech. There had been calls by members of Congress for him to be stopped at the border so he would not be able to speak.
In 2009, he sparked controversy for showing a controversial film which linked the Koran to terrorism and has previously said the Netherlands is being taken over by a 'tsunami of Islamisation'.
Pamela Geller, the organizer, told CBS 11 from inside the building: 'I heard officers talking of possible explosions in backpacks and the car. There was talk of a grenade at the nearby Wal-Mart.'
The outspoken leader of Stop Islamisation of America then wrote on her personal website: 'This is a war. This is war on free speech. What are we going to do? Are we going to surrender to these monsters?'
In a post in late March, she insisted that the event was necessary to fight back against what she described as 'the jihad against freedom'.
Political Correctness VS FREE SPEECH
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The event was set up by the American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI) and had been described by opponents as an attack on Islam. They booked the center a little more than a week after Islamic militants in France killed 12 people at satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.
The group spent $10,000 on additional security, aware of potential threats they may attract, while Garland Police officers were fully prepared to deal with any issues that arose.
Before the event, the New York-based organisation made the headlines for its sponsorship of anti-Islamic adverts which it paid to run on transit systems in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and San Francisco.
Garland Police officer Joe Harn said they had been monitoring the build-up to the event and had not received any credible threats.
During a press conference on Saturday evening, he described how the shootout lasted only seconds. He insisted the force are being 'cautious' about everything and would keep the area closed off until it was deemed safe.
A picture taken from inside the event just before the attack showed Geller giving a check for $12,500 to Bosch Fawtin. However it is not known whether he took first place.
According to the Dallas Morning News, locals in Garland said they were upset with the exhibit being held in their town, and tried to convince the city council to intervene.
One resident, Dorothy Brooks, said that the event was like shouting 'fire!' in a theater - an oft-cited example of freedom of speech taken too far.
She continued: 'I understand that participants have a right to express themselves with cartoons, but I regret that this will be happening in our city'.
Another, Lena Griffin, asked at a city council meeting: 'Do we want to be involved with this type of rhetoric?' It is not an issue of free speech but clearly one of public safety.'
The event had already been the subject of disapproval from further afield, according to ForeignPolicy.com.
The site obtained a letter from congressmen Keith Ellison (D-Minnesota) and André Carson (D-Indiana) sent to John Kerry and Homeland Security asking them to bar a speaker for the event from entering the United States.
Caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed have triggered violent protests in the past, including when the Danish daily Jyllands-Posten published 12 satirical cartoons in 2005, triggering deadly protests in some Muslim countries.
In January, just weeks after the Paris attacks, an event called Stand with the Prophet was held in the same center. Muslim leaders from across the world gathered to try and combat 'Islamophobes in America' who had turned Muhammad into an 'object of hate'.
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`A police officer stands next to the pickup truck riddled with bullet holes outside the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, Texas. Two suspects were shot dead after opening fire near the 'Draw Muhammad' event
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An armed officer stands guard on a road near the closed-off scene where bomb squads worked on Sunday evening
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`Members of the police and swat ask people from the audience if they heard or witnessed anything from the shooting
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Pamela Geller, co-founder and President of Stop Islamization of America, also spoke just before the two gunmen opened fire
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`Geert Wilders, who has sparked controversy for linking the Koran with the truth about Islamic terrorism, speaks at the Muhammad Art Exhibit and Contest
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Shall we let muslim terrorists set the stage for a war of words or does (Freedom of Speech) actually MEAN something in America?
Even Fox news tonight only reported that there were two men killed and a possible bomb existed in Dallas but they couldn't bring themselves to report that Muhammad was the target of ridicule by Texans!
Comment by Raya @ REAL CONSERVATIVES on May 4, 2015 at 2:38am
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