Like other biker gangs, the Bandidos place high importance on the logo and wording emblazoned on the back of the group’s leather jackets. One of the most prominent organizations on this list is the Bandidos gang, one of the participants in the Waco shootout. In fact, 300 motorcycle gangs are listed on the DOJ’s Outlaw Motorcycle Gang (OMG) listing. According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), motorcycle gangs can operate as well-organized criminal enterprises that engage in drug trafficking and violent crime. Are Biker Gangs a Business Security Risk?īiker gangs, as opposed to motorcycle clubs, are considered to be organized criminal organizations by US law enforcement. They believe the actual cause of the fight was a “turf” dispute with both biker gangs claiming the state of Texas as their territory. However, law enforcement officials doubt these initial accounts. This led to an argument that escalated into a brawl that engulfed the whole restaurant. Initial reports suggested that the battle erupted after a gang member’s foot was run over by a rival member in the parking lot. Witnesses describe the shootout as a war zone with multiple gunshots fired.Īfter the shooting started, the restaurant staff had to lock themselves into the walk-in freezer for protection. However, tensions were high and the situation escalated into a brawl involving knives and firearms. The meeting, which had been previously scheduled, was not designed to be hostile. The biker gang shootout started as a fight between two rival gangs, the Bandidos and the Cossacks. The skirmish, which occurred at a Twin Peaks restaurant, left 9 people dead, 18 injured, and resulted in 170 arrests. On May 18 th in Waco, Texas, a battle erupted between two rival biker gangs. The Cossacks, whose motto is "We take care of our own", also claim to be one of the biggest motorcycle clubs in Australia.Īt least, three other motorcycle gangs were involved in the Twin Peaks carnage -bikers with patches from The Veterans, Leathernecks and Scimitars were spotted in the aftermath - milling around with Cossack members - suggesting that a lethal alliance against the Bandidos has emerged to continue the warring across the Texas badlands.Corporate Travel Security and Employee Security Firm Reviews Biker Gang Shootout in Texas Today, in modern times we traded our horses for motorcycles", according to book The One Percenter Encyclopedia: The World Of Outlaw Motorcycle Clubs.
Their club patch features a nomadic horseman and warrior, which the group claims represents how Cossacks were "always on horseback always ready to fight. "I don't think anybody could have forecasted it to the degree that it happened." "We knew the tensions with the Cossacks were as high as they'd ever been," Cook said. The group have also taken to wearing a Texas patch on their clothing in what Steve Cook, executive director of the Midwest Outlaw Motorcycle Gang Investigators Association, described as "basically a slap in the face to the Bandidos" in an interview with Vox. The Cossacks were formed in Texas in 1969 and are believed to have allied with the Hells Angels in recent years in order to team up against the Bandidos. Six men, including member of the Toronto chapter Wayne Kellestine, were convicted in the mass shooting which occurred in south-western Ontario, Canada. In 2006, the group were involved in what police described as "internal cleansing" within the gang, resulting in the deaths of eight people. The fighting included several shootouts, car bombs and even an anti-tank missile fired at a prison cell holding a Bandidos gang member. The feud, which lasted between 19, resulted in 11 people dead, 74 attempted murders and 96 members wounded. The rivalry between these two gangs is said to date back to at least 2013, with president of the Abilene, Texas chapter of the Bandidos, Curtis Jack Lewis, being arrested in November 2013 on suspicion of stabbing two members of the Cossacks outside a restaurant. McLennan County Sheriff Parnell McNamara said police believe all nine people who were killed in the shooting were members of the Bandidos or Cossacks gangs. Officers believe up to five gangs may have been involved in the shooting, with the Bandidos and Cossacks biker gangs said to have been at the centre. Police estimated around 100 weapons have been recovered from the scene. The gunfire first broke out inside the Twin Peaks "breastaurant" (known for its bikini clad waitresses) in Waco before spilling out into the car park.Īt least 18 people were also injured during the incident from either gun shot or knife wounds. A shootout between rival motorbike gangs in Texas has left nine people dead in what police described as the "most violent crime scene" they had ever seen.