Sunday’s bloody battle, which pitched Waco police against two feuding gangs and their supporters, resulted in 9 dead, 18 critically injured and 174 arrests. That the dead and injured were members of the feuding biker gangs and did not include bystanders was a mix of pure luck and good management on the part of the combined police agencies involved. As one of the officers exclaimed when he arrived at the scene, “It was complete absolute chaos.”
This diary attempts to unravel the chaos, in so far as that is possible, by correlating and codifying the glut of information from multiple sources.
Context: Pre-Battle Background
Steve Cook, executive director of the Midwest Outlaw Motorcycle Gang Investigators Association, worked undercover in a motorcycle gang in the early 2000s. He currently works in law enforcement in Kansas City and is scheduled to travel to Waco next month to hold a conference for local police regarding outlawed motorcycle gangs, known as OMGs.
Although Waco historically hasn't been a hot spot for gang rivalries (and Texas didn’t even show up in a 2013 law enforcement survey of gang activity), Cook said, "We were pretty certain that some kind of incident was on the horizon." From the Vox report:
The Cossacks, a local Texas gang, had been challenging the Bandidos' dominance, including discussing a possible alliance with the Hell's Angels, a rival of the Bandidos, Cook said.
The biggest provocation came when the Cossacks began wearing a Texas patch on their clothing – "basically a slap in the face to the Bandidos," said Cook, who says he was an undercover investigator of the Bandidos and some of their support groups.
"We knew the tensions with the Cossacks were as high as they'd ever been," he said.
Police spokesman, Sergeant Patrick Swanton, told reporters that Waco Police were expecting trouble that day. Twelve officers, including a SWAT team, were positioned around the perimeter of the twin Peaks restaurant before bikers arrived. Sgt Swanton referred to police intel and what they certainly knew was this: a Texas Region 1 Confederation of Clubs and Independents meeting (known as COC&I) was scheduled for 1pm-2pm May 17. It was publicly posted on the
May calendar at the United Clubs of Waco website. Waco Police also knew the venue for this meeting was Twin Peaks and had been in contact with the restaurant’s management.
Unsubstantiated but credible information came unexpectedly from a FaceBook remark in the comment section of a Waco Tribune article.
Ronnie is certainly correct about the meeting and its scheduled time so there’s every reason to believe he’s also right about the intended purpose of the meeting. The battle shootout took place at 12:15pm, some 45 minutes before the scheduled start of the COC&I. There’s no mention in the media so far as to whether gang leaders, the “big boys” of Ronnie’s comment, were present or not.
The Battle: What Happened When
Before the bikers began arriving at the rendezvous, twelve police officers preceded them and took up positions on the perimeter. While they would have preferred a police presence inside the restaurant, management had refused to cooperate and denied them the permission they legally required in order to enter the building. Police had been liaising with Twin Peaks management for two months but the latter chose not to take police advice and even held Thursday ‘Bike Nights’ to encourage gang custom.
Over a hundred bikers had arrived at Twin Peaks by midday. Presumably the plan was to have lunch before the meeting began. However events were to take a very different turn when an argument over a parking space erupted in the restroom. It quickly spread to the bar area where shouting degenerated into kicking and punching.
Terrified customers and servers shut themselves in the large backroom freezer, a sensible move that may well have saved them from inadvertent harm given that the brawl rapidly escalated into a pitched battle with clubs, chains, knives and guns.
At the sound of gunshots, the police converged on the building and called in the back-up units on standby. In addition to Waco Police, there was a SWAT team, officers from Lacy Lakeview and McLennan County Sheriff’s Office, Department of Public Safety troopers and ATF agents.
The fight spilled over into the Twin Peaks car park where some thirty bikers brandishing guns, shot at each other then turned on police who returned fire. Backup units arrived during the fire fight to reinforce the original provision of twelve officers.
Next door, the Don Carlos restaurant was on lockdown but not before one family of three had left and made their way to the adjoining car park. As gunfire erupted, they ran to their vehicle and crouched down behind it. The pickup provided scant refuge but they were lucky and emerged unscathed from what must have been a very frightening situation.
At the cessation of the fire fight, officers entered and secured the building. They located staff and customers, ascertained that none were hurt, and escorted them to safety.
Sergeant Swanton described the scene as bloody and gruesome. “In 34 years of law enforcement, this is the most violent crime scene I have ever been involved in,” he said, “There is blood everywhere.”
Reporters were initially kept at a distance from the crime scene while paramedics covered bodies and ferried the injured to hospitals. Police rounded up the remaining bikers and organized two holding areas, one for each of the rival gangs, out of sight of each other.
Bikers in rival gangs were kept apart while waiting to be transported to Waco Convention Center for processing
The injured were similarly divided between two hospitals – Baylor Scott & White Hillcrest Medical Center and Providence Health Center – so rival bikers could be kept apart. The danger of revenge killings is very real. Both police and hospital security remain on high alert.
Officials called the scene “secure but active” as of 2:30pm whereupon reporters were allowed closer access to photograph and video the external crime scene and surrounds. Police spokesman, Sergeant Patrick Swanton, remained accessible to the media until after 11pm.
Twin Peaks Restaurant
From the New York Times report:
“We have attempted to work with the local management of Twin Peaks to no avail,” Sergeant Swanton said. “They have continued to allow these bikers to gather here, and this is the culmination of what has occurred.” He added: “What happened here today could have been avoided if we had had management at a local establishment listen to their police department and assist us. They failed to do that.”
In response to the shooting and police accusations of non-cooperation by the Waco franchisee, Twin Peaks spokesman, Rick Van Warner, announced they were “fully reviewing all the circumstances surrounding it.”
Later, in a phone interview, Mr. Van Warner said the company was “seriously considering revoking the franchise based on this situation.” He added: “If any of those allegations are true that there was ample warning to potentially prevent something of this nature, then there is no way we would allow someone to continue operating under our own brand.”
The
Waco Tribune confirmed the
company's decision:
Earlier Monday the Twin Peaks corporate office revoked the franchise of agreement with the Waco operation.
It released the following statement at that time: “We are in the people business and the safety of the employees and guests in our restaurants is priority one. 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.
“We will not tolerate the actions of this relatively new franchisee and are revoking their franchise agreement immediately.”
The TABC (Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission) summarily suspended Twin Peaks’ liquor license as of 4 pm Sunday. Additionally, the Waco franchise faces further scrutiny from the TABC as reported in an updated
Waco Tribune report:
TABC spokeswoman Lt. Tana Travis said the TABC staff visited the site shortly after the shootout and interviewed employees and witnesses, with help from the Waco Police Department. It was at that time she informed Jay Patel, operating partner of the establishment, that his license would be suspended for seven days.
She said though Twin Peaks likely will have its license restored in seven days, that does not mean the TABC has completed its investigation. She said it will look into administrative issues such as how the club is being operated and its response to the shootout and whether steps are being taken to prevent a repeat of the violence.
She added that the TABC will be examining the club’s receipts to see if it is meeting guidelines related to operating as a food-serving restaurant that also serves alcohol.
The Aftermath
While the police did not elaborate on the names of the biker gangs involved, the media identified the two principle rivals as the Bandidos and Cossacks with support from the Scimitars, Leathernecks, Kottonmouths and Los Pirados. The McLennan county sheriff, Parnell McNamara, whose office is assisting with the investigation, said all nine who were killed were members of the Bandidos or Cossacks gangs.
After receiving intelligence that other gang members might be returning for "payback", police warned people to stay away from the area. In response, authorities promptly shut down the Central Texas Marketplace while many other Waco businesses, particularly restaurants and bars, chose to close early to avoid possible trouble. Several streets were also closed downtown, including bridges spanning the Brazos River. This appears to have been in order to secure the area around the Convention Center.
Because of the large number of suspects, police had pressed the Waco Convention Center into service to detain, question and process suspects and witnesses. A spokeswoman for the FBI office in San Antonio said their agents were also assisting the Waco police in this mammoth undertaking. After 174 arrests, the Center was finally cleared by noon Monday. Those arrested were all charged with engaging in organized criminal activity and taken to the McLennan County Jail. About one third had been had been booked in by Monday afternoon, KWTX-TV reported.
Is bad facial hair a pre-requisite for being in a biker gang? (Tweet by 301st Spartan)
By order of Justice of the Peace W.H. “Pete” Peterson, all bonds have been set at $1 million each. “I think it is important to send a message,” Peterson said. Furthermore, if any bond out of jail, they won't be going anyway soon. As the
Waco Tribune reported in
an update:
The motorcycles were confiscated as part of the massive law enforcement investigation and sources say they likely will be seized and forfeited by McLennan County through civil forfeiture procedures and sold at auction.
More than 100 weapons have been recovered from the crime scene and investigators will continue to process evidence on site through to sunset on Monday. Stores and restaurants in the immediate vicinity will remain closed as access to them is blocked by security guarding the crime scene. However, other businesses in the Central Texas Marketplace have been cleared to reopen.
The arrival in the town of motorcycle gang members has slowed to a trickle. Nevertheless, all authorities remain on heightened alert.
Updated information provided by johnatx and Catte Nappe in the comment section, has been edited into this diary. My grateful thanks to both for their valuable contributions with links.