Bikers from five rival gangs attacked each other with guns, knives, brass knuckles, clubs and motorcycle chains at a Twin Peaks Sports Bar and Grill in the central Texas city. No bystanders or police were injured, police said.
When the bikers began shooting, officers stationed outside moved in, some of them also firing their weapons. When the shooting ended, bodies were scattered in the restaurant and across two parking lots.
"Yesterday's events was bad guys on bad guys. When our officers arrived, those bad guys turned their guns on our officers," Waco Police Sergeant Patrick Swanton told a news briefing.
Bikers were reported to be traveling to the city following the shooting and police have been threatened, he said.
"There was a green light put out on law enforcement, is our understanding from last night. We are aware of that threat," Swanton said.
About 100 weapons were recovered from the crime scene, which was strewn with shell casings, police said.
"We are not in a rush. This is obviously a very large investigation involving numerous agencies and organizations and we are going to get it right," he said.
The arrested group was first taken to a local convention center and then moved to a county jail. Police took positions on overpasses and building tops to provide security.
"We have layers of protection," Swanton said.
Those taken into custody were charged with engaging in organized crime for capital murder and likely will face other charges related to the bloodshed after an investigation of the sprawling crime scene.
BANDIDOS BIKERS, BEERS AND BLOODSHED
Among the gangs involved in the shooting were the Bandidos Motorcycle Club, which the U.S. Justice Department says has between 2,000 to 2,500 members in the United States and 13 other countries. It is the one of the biggest motorcycle gangs and a rival to the better-known Hells Angels.
"The Bandidos are involved in transporting and distributing cocaine and marijuana and are involved in the production, transportation and distribution of methamphetamine," according to a Justice Department fact sheet.
The gangs try to keep under the radar as much as possible to avoid attention for their criminal activities, law enforcement officials said. But the tension between the Bandidos and rival groups in Texas, including the Cossacks, came to a head at the gang meeting in Waco, where about 200 people were present.
The dispute appeared to be over territory and membership, Swanton said, adding that there was no indication it was caused by a fight over drug trafficking.
The fight likely started with a shove or two in a restroom that moved into the restaurant and then spilled out into parking lots, where police had positioned themselves in anticipation of trouble. A few of the injured staggered out of the restaurant and died on the parking lot.
"(It) quickly escalated into a fist fight, which turned into a knife fight, which immediately turned into a gun fight," Swanton said.
Twin Peaks is a chain restaurant known for scantily clad waitresses serving bar food and large mugs of beer.
The Waco restaurant had been used as a meeting place for motorcycle gangs for the past few months, police said. They had asked the restaurant's managers to put a halt to the meetings but said they did not heed the requests.
Twin Peaks on Monday revoked the franchise rights from the Dallas-based company that ran the Waco restaurant for not doing enough to ensure security.
"Unfortunately the management team of the franchised restaurant in Waco chose to ignore the warnings and advice from both the police and our company, and did not uphold the high security standards we have in place to ensure everyone is safe at our restaurants," the company said in a statement.
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