This is the last article you can read this month
You can read more article this month
You can read more articles this month
Sorry your limit is up for this month
Reset on:
Please help support the Morning Star by subscribing here
by James Tweedie
OFFICIAL accounts of an alleged shootout between bikers outside a restaurant in Texas, US, were called into question yesterday after security video showed only one biker firing a gun.
Police in Waco tell of a brawl that escalated into a knife fight before the bikers drew guns, with nine dead and 27 injured as a result.
The security video shows diners ducking for cover, seeking shelter in toilets and trying to escape through the kitchen as shooting broke out in front of the restaurant.But crucially, only one motorcycle club member can be seen firing a gun on the front patio.
Waco Police Department has admitted that its officers, who were waiting in force for the bikers when they arrived, fired shots at the men.
But the department is still tight-lipped on the question of who shot who, prompting speculation that many, or even all, of the dead and wounded were victims of a massacre by trigger-happy police.
A total of 170 motorcyclists from the 13 clubs present at the restaurant were arrested following the shooting.
All were charged under Texas’s draconian organised crime laws and their bail was set at $1 million (£638,000) each.
A gallery of named mugshots released by the police department shows many of the arrested bikers.
Police have claimed that the bikers were hardened criminals bent on mayhem, but only five of the nine killed had Texan criminal records.
The Twin Peaks restaurant where the shooting happened was part of a chain like the international Hooters franchise.
Its owners had previously been warned by police and over their decision to make Thursday night Biker Night at the restaurant.
Police had also pressed Twin Peaks to stop Sunday’s meeting of the Texas Confederation of Clubs and Independents, but management let it proceed.
Waco police responded by stationing 22 heavily armed officers, including a 10-strong special weapons and tactics team, outside the restaurant.
On Monday, authorities suspended the restaurant’s licence and brand owner Front Burner Restaurants announced it was terminating its franchise deal.
