(CNN) Elton Simpson, one of the two men who were foiled in an attempted attack on the Prophet Muhammad exhibit in Garland, Texas, was in private contact with known jihadists overseas who were encouraging Simpson to launch an attempted attack, multiple officials tell CNN.
Simpson and his roommate, Nadir Soofi, were killed Sunday by a guard outside the exhibit after they drove up and opened fire.
The FBI has found private communications between Simpson and some prominent terrorists whom he also had public exchanges with on Twitter including Jenaid Hussein, a British national tied to ISIS and Mohamed Abdullahi Hassan, an American now believed to be in Somalia and part of that country’s al Qaeda affiliate al Shabaab, according to one law enforcement official.
