Snipers guard Waco biker shooting scene after 170 arrests

About 170 people have been arrested on felony charges of engaging in organized crime, following a Sunday bloodbath at a Waco, Texas, restaurant between rival biker gang members that left nine dead and at least 18 wounded in a shootout that involved police, authorities said.

Police snipers on the rooftop of the restaurant, Twin Peaks, guarded the parking lot crime scene Monday morning as investigators gathered evidence among bullet-riddled cars, shell casings and rows of motorcycles.

In a disturbing development, Waco Police Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton said that overnight “the leadership of the bike groups had put a green light out for (attacks on police) officers in the area.”

Three individuals were arrested trying to enter the police perimeter after the shootout, but no attacks on police were reported, he said.

Swanton’s message to the biker gangs: “Let’s just let it go for now. We have a lot of work to do here, we don’t need to add to the body count.”

The bodies were removed from the scene by 2 a.m.

Swanton said police reported earlier Monday that 192 had been arrested, but that number was revised to 165 to 175 and could still increase because “they’re still being booked,” he said.

Authorities have not identified the dead, did not have conditions for the wounded and did not identify what hospitals they were taken to.

No bystanders or officers were wounded in the violence in which bikers were armed with guns, knives and clubs.

“In 34 years of law enforcement, this is the worst crime scene, the most violent crime scene I have ever been involved in,” Swanton said.

The violence was one of the largest showdowns with law enforcement in Waco since a federal siege of a cult’s compound left about 80 people dead in 1993.

Swanton emphasized that the biker gangs involved were not just local. “This is not a Waco problem – this is a national problem,” he said.

There are more than 300 outlaw motorcycle gangs operating across the country, ranging in size from a few members to several hundred, according to federal gang estimates.

The dead were identified as members of the Bandidos and Cossacks gangs. Swanton said as many as five biker gangs were involved and as many as 50 weapons might be recovered.

The shooting started after noon Sunday at the restaurant, which features scantily clad waitresses. It is at the edge of the Central Texas Marketplace shopping center about 95 miles south of Dallas.

Up to 200 members of the gangs had gathered for a meeting when two arguments started – in the bathroom and outside – over a parking space and escalated into a pitched battle.

Waco police had been alerted to the gathering in advance by a detective who had been tracking the motorcycle gangs for a year, Swanton said. At least a dozen police officers plus state troopers were outside the restaurant when the shooting started and returned fire, Swanton said.

He could not say Monday how many of the dead and injured were shot by police.

The shopping mall area surrounding the restaurant remained closed Monday as authorities gathered evidence. The parking lot was roped off with yellow police tape and packed with cars, some showing bullet holes. Swanton and others who saw the inside of the restaurant have said it is littered with shell casings and pools of blood.

The FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were assisting with the investigation Monday.

The Waco Twin Peaks restaurant will be closed for a week, police said.

The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission has suspended the restaurant’s license to sell alcohol for a week during their investigation, a commission spokesman said.

“It gives our officers time to investigate the scene to determine whether the policies there contributed to the shooting,” said TABC spokesman Chris Porter.

Porter said TABC investigators were on scene soon after the shooting, and have already spoken with Twin Peaks staff and managers, who are cooperating.

He said the commission had not received any reports of violence or other problems at the Waco Twin Peaks since they were issued a license in late May 2014.

Swanton said the closure would help keep the peace.

“It’s a good thing for us – we don’t have to worry about them opening up again,” he said.

Jay Patel, who operates the Waco restaurant, posted a statement online late Sunday saying that before the shooting, the restaurant’s management had “ongoing and positive communications with the police.”

Swanton dismissed Patel’s claim to have cooperated with police as “a fabrication.”

“They were not helpful” to police, Swanton said.

He said police knew of criminal activity by bikers at the restaurant for the last two months. That came to a head Sunday, he said, although the exact motive for the shooting remained unclear.

“Recruitment is an issue. Turf wars may have been an issue,” Swanton said.

A gang threat assessment by the Texas Department of Public Safety last year classified the Bandidos biker gang as a Tier 2 threat, the second highest.

Other groups in that tier included the Bloods, Crips and the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas.

The Bandidos, formed in the 1960s, are involved in trafficking cocaine, marijuana and methamphetamines, according to the Justice Department.

Waco residents vented their frustration with Twin Peaks online, posting criticism and mock reviews on the restaurant’s Facebook page and calling for a boycott.

“Food was decent. Service was slightly above average. Was held at gunpoint midway through my meal but would certainly recommend to a friend,” wrote L.K. Manning.

Some defended Twin Peaks management and the restaurant operator.

“As a business owner you cannot pick and choose who comes to your establishment you are there to serve the public this could have just as easily happened in a church parking lot,” wrote Sammie Rogers Lilly.

But many more called for the restaurant to be shut down.

“The owners and management should be arrested for inciting a riot, Waco civil authorities need to force this to close,” wrote Jeff Evans.

This story was originally published May 18, 2015 at 1:46 PM with the headline "Snipers guard Waco biker shooting scene after 170 arrests."