WACO BIKER SHOOTOUT

Texas police charge more than 170 people linked to deadly biker gang shootout

Heightened security measures remain in place as authorities comb over extensive crime scene in Waco the day after a shootout that left nine dead

Authorities investigate a shooting in the parking lot of the Twin Peaks restaurant on Sunday. Photograph: Jerry Larson/AP Raya Jalabi, Nicky Woolf and Martin Pengelly in New York, and agencies
Monday 18 May 2015 16.05 EDT Last modified on Monday 18 May 2015 16.30 EDT

 

Police in Waco have charged 170 people with “organised crime in reference to ... capital murder” in what could potentially represent the largest mass arrest on a capital charge in American history.
They were arrested and charged in connection with a deadly shootout between rival biker gangs on Sunday in Waco, Texas, which left nine dead and 18 injured.
“170 individuals are being booked and processed for engaging in organised crime; that organised crime is capital murder,” sergeant Patrick Swanton, a spokesperson for Waco police department, said in a press conference Monday, adding that the investigation was still ongoing.
When called for comment, a spokesperson for the district attorney’s office in McLennan county said they were unable to confirm Swanton’s statement at this time.

Nine dead and 18 injured in Waco, Texas biker gang shooting – in pictures

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Heightened security measures were in place on Monday following the shootout on Sunday at a Twin Peaks restaurant, according to local police. Parts of downtown Waco remained locked down, with officials questioning motorcycle riders.
All those killed and injured were gang members, police said. The McLennan County sheriff, Parnell McNamara, whose office was involved in the investigation, said all nine who were killed were members of the Bandidos or Cossacks gangs.
The Bandidos are considered one of the world’s largest biker gangs – behind the Hells Angels – with as many as 2,500 members in 13 countries, according to the US Department of Justice. In a 2014 gang threat assessment, the Texas department of public safety classified the group as a “tier 2 threat”, the second highest.
On Monday morning, the restaurant and surrounding area were still littered with bullets and blood. Police said parts of the crime scene were yet to be processed.