Shootout Between Rival 1% Bikers in Waco, Texas

Eight Cossacks and 1 Bandido Nation 1% bikers died in the armed battle between rival clubs in the parking lot of Twin Peaks Restaurant in Waco, Texas. IMAGE: ROD AYDELOTTE/WACO TRIBUNE HERALD VIA AP/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Hundreds of bikers were at the Twin Peaks sports bar and restaurant, near Interstate 35 in Waco, Texas when a fight broke out just after noon between rival 1% biker club members. Eight bikers died at the scene, another biker died at an area hospital, and at least 18 other people were injured. All nine men killed were members of the two main rival groups, the Cossacks and Bandidos Nation, police said.

The Bandido Nation 1% Club was formed in Texas in 1966 and has spread all over the world. 

The Cossacks 1% club formed in Texas -- in 1969, and last year was told by Bandido Nation NOT to claim TEXAS as part of their 3-piece color back patches. The younger generation of bikers, that often includes military veterans, decided to ignore the warning and keep TEXAS as a bottom "rocker" on the club's patch.

The Bandidos Motorcycle Club: AKA the Bandido Nation, is an organized crime syndicate with a worldwide membership. The club was created in 1966 by Don Chambers in Texas. The motto still stands today as "We are the people our parents warned us about." It is estimated to have 2,400 members in 210 chapters, located in 22 countries. The FBI and the Criminal Intelligence Service Canada have named the Bandidos as an "outlaw motorcycle gang." The chapters are divided around the world, with over 90 in the US, 90 in Europe, 17 in Australia, 1 in NZ and 1 in South-east Asia:

• North America: The club is concentrated in Texas but extends out into over 15 other states. In Canada, the Rock Machine Motorcycle club in Montreal merged with the Bandidos in 2000. There was another chapter in Ontario but the Shedden Massacre was a dramatic internal conflict that led to their deaths.
• Oceania: The chapters are widely spread across Australia and some have even taken part in bloodletting. The club attempted to spread to NZ by merging with former members of the Highway 61 members. 
• Europe: The European chapters have expanded across France, Scandinavia, Germany, Spain, Italy, Luxembourg and surrounding countries. As of March 15th 2014 a "Probationary Chapter" was also set up in Sittard, Netherlands. The club also hopes to expand to Russia and Eastern Europe.
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• The history and video of Biker Clubs in the USA.
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• Read all stories related to ongoing turf wars between rival 1% outlaw clubs. 

192 arrests - (Jerry Larson/AP Press) 

Waco police arrested 192 biker club members, and filed "organized crime" charges against 174 bikers, described by a county judge as "mostly from out of town." They were at Twin Peaks to recruit members. 

Justice of the Peace W.H. "Pete" Peterson set their bond at $1 million each. "I think it is important to send a message," the judge said. "We had nine people killed in our community. These people just came in and most of them were from out of town. Very few of them were from in town."

The fight began inside the restaurant and moved to the parking lot, where it escalated from fists to knives and chains, and then guns, police said. Diners, including small children, scrambled for shelter in the restaurant's freezer. Other people fled from the parking lot or took cover behind parked cars during the gun battle. 

Police were aware of growing tension at the bar, and at least some police were at the bar when the fight began. Waco police Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton told KWTX-TV said hundreds of bikers were involved in the parking lot fight. Some began shooting at each other, and when police arrived, they began shooting at police. It is unclear how many of the dead and wounded were shot by bikers and how many may have been shot by police.

On Sunday night, Waco police advised citizens to avoid the area until further notice:"Again!! Please avoid the Central Texas Market Place as the area is NOT safe. Officers are continuing to arrest individuals coming to the scene with weapons. This is not the time to sight see as we are dealing with very dangerous individuals." 

At 10 pm, police issued an internal warning that was posted on a police website, advising officers of "credible information about threats to law enforcement." The internal bulletin said the Cossacks and Bandidos have "issued an order to kill anyone in uniform."

Police confiscated as many as 100 firearms, as well as numerous knives and other weapons. The Best Buy and other stores closest to the crime scene were closed for the day on Monday, as police continued their investigation. 

 "We were shocked by the shootings that took place in the parking lot of our franchised restaurant in Waco and are still in the process of reviewing all the circumstances surrounding it. We are thankful no employees, guests or police were injured in this senseless violence outside the restaurant, and our sympathies are with the families of those killed." - Twin Peaks posted Sunday night on Facebook. 

Monday morning, the franchise agreement of Twin Peaks-Waco was revoked.

Bandido's Nation Turf Wars - Reported by the Dallas Morning News crime blog.

For months, police say they tried to thwart danger by boosting security inside or having the restaurant deny service to the rival club members. But police say that local managers at the restaurant refused to cooperate. The managers disputed that claim after the shooting.

The biker clubs involved Sunday are well-known organized criminal enterprises, some with national affiliations, police said, that make money through drug dealings, extortion, robbery and violence.

Police had been aware for several months that rival club members were gathering to address recruitment and turf, areas where the groups have clashed.

At least 10 uniformed SWAT officers from Waco and the Texas Department of Public Safety were in marked cars outside the restaurant, but no plainclothes officers were inside because they felt they weren't welcome by restaurant managers, Swanton said.

Albuquerque, New Mexico 

The Bandidos were involved in a shooting less than two months ago at a local restaurant in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  >>>Read Story

"Bandidos are in town recruiting and collecting debts. Fact. Even in Rio Rancho," said a local Albuquerque rider on Facebook. - March 2015.

Ontario, Canada - Thursday, April 16, 2015, Ontario's highest court upheld the first-degree murder convictions of five members of the Bandido Nation in the 2006 "Shedden Massacre." 

Eight members of the Toronto Bandidos motorcycle club were shot execution style on April 8, 2006 at a farm property, the result of an internal gang dispute involving the Winnipeg and American branches. Their bodies were found stuffed in trunks of vehicles on the property near London, Ont.

The jury convicted six men of first-degree murder but only five appealed on various grounds, among them the trial judge's instructions to the jury.