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| Waco biker shootout: police say 320 weapons, not 1,000, found | |
| (about 11 hours later) | |
| Texas police on Wednesday night said they had recovered about 320 weapons – not the figure of 1,000 they earlier released – from the Waco restaurant where nine bikers were killed during a mass fight between rival motorcycle gangs, police said on Wednesday. | |
| Investigators recovered items ranging from pocket knives to an AK-47 rifle, Waco police spokesman Sergeant Patrick Swanton told the Guardian. Gang members rushed to get rid of their weapons, he said, as gunfire erupted and police moved in to the Twin Peaks restaurant in the south of the city last Sunday. | Investigators recovered items ranging from pocket knives to an AK-47 rifle, Waco police spokesman Sergeant Patrick Swanton told the Guardian. Gang members rushed to get rid of their weapons, he said, as gunfire erupted and police moved in to the Twin Peaks restaurant in the south of the city last Sunday. |
| They were found “stuffed in toilets and hidden under seats”, he said. One firearm was discovered in a bag of tortilla chips, while a knife was located in a bag of flour. Brass knuckles, bats and chains were also unearthed. | They were found “stuffed in toilets and hidden under seats”, he said. One firearm was discovered in a bag of tortilla chips, while a knife was located in a bag of flour. Brass knuckles, bats and chains were also unearthed. |
| Police had previously estimated of one or two hundred weapons but that figure leapt to 1,000 on Wednesday before being scaled back again. Police are unsure of the precise number of people who were at Twin Peaks for a scheduled meeting of gangs and clubs to discuss legislative issues, but in addition to the nine shooting deaths, 18 were injured and 170 arrested. It remains unclear how many were shot by police. | |
| Swanton said that the inside of Twin Peaks was a “pretty nasty scene” with “blood spatter everywhere”, especially in the bathroom. | Swanton said that the inside of Twin Peaks was a “pretty nasty scene” with “blood spatter everywhere”, especially in the bathroom. |
| Related: Waco shootout: how a friendly Sunday get-together ended in a biker bloodbath | Related: Waco shootout: how a friendly Sunday get-together ended in a biker bloodbath |
| Attorneys for some of those booked into the county jail on $1m bonds have told reporters that their clients were innocent bystanders with no connection to criminal activity, but Swanton defended the mass arrests and said that the number of weapons demonstrated that the event was not planned as a harmless gathering. | Attorneys for some of those booked into the county jail on $1m bonds have told reporters that their clients were innocent bystanders with no connection to criminal activity, but Swanton defended the mass arrests and said that the number of weapons demonstrated that the event was not planned as a harmless gathering. |
| Swanton also dismissed the suggestion that police might have been able to prevent the violence by stopping and searching those entering Twin Peaks. | Swanton also dismissed the suggestion that police might have been able to prevent the violence by stopping and searching those entering Twin Peaks. |
| “We have to abide by civil rights,” he said. | “We have to abide by civil rights,” he said. |
| Anticipating a tense encounter based on intelligence which suggested rising hostilities between the Bandidos and Cossacks gangs, 22 officers were in the vicinity of the restaurant before trouble erupted. | Anticipating a tense encounter based on intelligence which suggested rising hostilities between the Bandidos and Cossacks gangs, 22 officers were in the vicinity of the restaurant before trouble erupted. |
| With fears of imminent reprisals from gang members receding but not ruled out, Swanton declined to say if Waco police are putting in special plans to patrol potential flashpoints such as bars and restaurants for the upcoming Memorial Day weekend. | With fears of imminent reprisals from gang members receding but not ruled out, Swanton declined to say if Waco police are putting in special plans to patrol potential flashpoints such as bars and restaurants for the upcoming Memorial Day weekend. |
| Dozens of investigators from multiple law enforcement agencies have been collecting evidence, analysing and securing the crime scene since Sunday, but police activity there was close to being wrapped up on Wednesday afternoon. | Dozens of investigators from multiple law enforcement agencies have been collecting evidence, analysing and securing the crime scene since Sunday, but police activity there was close to being wrapped up on Wednesday afternoon. |
| Several officers and vehicles and a line of yellow crime scene tape at the parking lot entrance remained, and the restaurant was still closed, but the lot was clear of cars, trucks and motorbikes and adjacent roads and stores in the shopping centre had reopened. | Several officers and vehicles and a line of yellow crime scene tape at the parking lot entrance remained, and the restaurant was still closed, but the lot was clear of cars, trucks and motorbikes and adjacent roads and stores in the shopping centre had reopened. |