After what one officer described as the worst crime scene he’d ever witnessed, 170 people from five biker gangs were arrested for organized crime in the wake of yesterday’s shootout at a Waco, Texas restaurant.
Sometime around noon on Sunday, a dispute over a parking spot exploded into a brawl in the bathroom of a Twin Peaks restaurant in south Waco. The fight spilled into the parking lot. It didn’t take long for fists and feet to be replaced with chains, knives, and finally guns. According to Waco police spokesman Patrick Swanton, the bikers actually started shooting at the police when they arrived. While police were already on hand due to the potential for trouble, it didn’t take long for all hell to break loose.
When the dust settled, nine people were dead and 18 more were injured. It’s nothing less than a miracle that there were so few casualties, given what Swanton described as “the most violent crime scene I have ever been involved in” 34 years as a policeman. There were more than 100 firearms discharged, and several vehicles near the restaurant were pockmarked with bullet holes. Additionally, the gunplay actually started inside the restaurant. Due to fears of more violence in what police described as a “war zone,” police shut down the Central Texas Marketplace, the shopping and dining complex where the restaurant was located. Several other nearby stores and eateries closed early as well.
Now you’re probably wondering, “100 firearms? How’s that possible?” The answer is that the main combatants in this fracas were the Bandidos and Cossacks, two of the most violent biker gangs in the nation. Canadian investigative journalist Julian Sher told NBC News that the Bandidos think the Hells Angels are “too nice” and “too corporate.” Now that’s saying a lot.
The Bandidos try to hide behind charitable efforts, but Texas officials are well acquainted with their penchant for hideous crimes committed in secret, as well as their role in drug trafficking. Reportedly, the Bandidos weren’t pleased that the Cossacks had formed an alliance with the Hells Angels. Steve Cook, an expert on biker gangs, the weaponry found at the scene shows that “these guys came looking for a fight.”
This may not be getting as much hype as the recent violence in Ferguson and Baltimore, law enforcement takes the Bandidos very seriously. The Texas Department of Public Safety considers the Bandidos to be a “Tier 2 threat”–the same level as the Crips, Bloods, and Aryan Brotherhood. The federal government considers the Bandidos an organized crime syndicate. Underlining this, all of those arrested for their roles in yesterday’s bloodbath are being on $1 million bail each–which is more than appropriate given that they turned their guns on officers and what can charitably be described as complete disregard for innocent people in the area. Additionally, they are all charged with engaging in organized crime linked to capital murder, which could send them to prison for life if convicted.
Those bikers may not be the only ones who better have good lawyers on hand. Waco police officials let it be known they were not pleased that the management at the Waco Twin Peaks had allowed the restaurant to become a haven for bike gang activity. Swanton said that the police had warned restaurant management numerous times about the potential for violence, but management wasn’t willing to cooperate in staving it off.
On Monday afternoon–as if they had a choice–officials at Twin Peaks headquarters in Addison, Texas announced that they had yanked the Waco location’s franchise for frequently disregarding warnings from both law enforcement and corporate headquarters about the potential for violence. Later that day, in what was another obvious call, corporate officials announced that the restaurant would not reopen. It would have been some time before it would have been able to open in any event, given that the area is still a crime scene.
Given the circumstances, the owners of that restaurant deserve to be sued into poverty. When you show this kind of disregard for the safety of your customers, your workers, and the public, you deserve to be driven out of business. It’s the same treatment that Peanut Corporation of America and Massey Energy got, and JPMorgan Chase should have gotten the same treatment for doing business with Bernie Madoff when it knew he was a crook. I also have to hope that this bloodbath allows federal and state investigators to find a way to drive the Bandidos out of existence. Something like this can never be allowed to happen again, ever.
