WACO, TEXAS // A shootout among rival motorcycle gangs at a popular Texas restaurant left nine bikers dead and 18 injured on Sunday.
The violence, which erupted shortly after noon, sent panicked patrons and bystanders fleeing for safety.
Eight people died at the scene of the shooting at Twin Peaks restaurant at a busy shopping centre about a 90-minute drive south of Dallas, said Waco police Sergeant W Patrick Swanton. Another person died in hospital.
The nine killed were all members of biker gangs, he said, as were the 18 people who were taken to hospitals with injuries that include stab and gunshot wounds. Some victims are being treated for both.
“This is probably one of the most gruesome crime scenes I’ve ever seen in my 34 years of law enforcement,” Sgt Swanton said.
“I was amazed that we didn’t have innocent civilians killed or injured.”
At least 100 people have been detained for questioning.
Sgt Swanton said at least five rival gangs gathered at Twin Peaks for a meeting that he said focused on turf and recruitment – two areas where the groups have often clashed.
Preliminary findings indicate a dispute broke out in a bathroom, escalated to include knives and firearms and eventually spilled into the restaurant parking lot, he said. There were 150 to 200 gang members inside the restaurant at the time. Shots were fired inside and outside the restaurant, he said.
McLennan County Sheriff Parnell McNamara, whose office is involved in the investigation, said all nine who were killed were members of the Banditos or Cossacks gangs.
Sgt Swanton described the interior of the restaurant after a Sunday night walk-through, saying it was littered with bullet casings, knives, a club, bodies and pools of blood.
Police were aware of the meeting in advance, Sgt Swanton said, and at least 12 Waco officers in addition to state troopers were outside the restaurant – part of a national chain that features scantily clad waitresses – when the fight began.
“We’ve been made aware in the past few months of rival biker gangs ... being here and causing issues,” Sgt Swanton said.
He said officers shot armed bikers, but added that the actions of law enforcement prevented further deaths. It was not known if any of the nine dead were killed by police officers.
Sgt Swanton said that the restaurant’s operators also were aware of the meeting in advance, and he described the management as uncooperative with authorities in addressing concerns.
“Apparently the management [of Twin Peaks] wanted them here and so we didn’t have any say-so on whether they could be here or not,” Sgt Swanton said.
A statement by the operating partner for the Waco franchise, Jay Patel said, “Our management team has had ongoing and positive communications with the police.”
He added that the restaurant was cooperating with the investigation.
Sgt Swanton addressed Mr Patel’s statement late Sunday night, calling it a “fabrication”.
Rick Van Warner, a spokesman for the Dallas-based corporate franchisor, said the company is reviewing the circumstances surrounding the shooting and is “seriously considering revoking” the Waco location’s franchise agreement.
Mr Van Warner said he could not address what the franchise owners “did or didn’t do leading up to this”, but the company is “very upset that clearly our standards of safety and security were not upheld in this particular case”.
Doug Greeness, a biker, was near the scene on Sunday evening. He said he is a member of a family riding club and was waiting for friends to be released from custody so he could return home.
Mr Greeness, who was not inside the restaurant when the melee broke out, described the event as a meeting of a biker association called the Texas Confederation of Clubs and Independents. He said the group meets to “discuss issues within the biker community”.
Sgt Swanton said authorities are increasing security in the area to prevent further violence among the gangs.
* Associated Press
