In a scene straight out of Sons of Anarchy, two rival biker gangs were involved in a violent shoot-out in the parking lot of a popular restaurant in Texas.

What started as a physical altercation quickly escalated into an all-out war as the Bandidos and the Cossacks, two of Texas’ most notorious biker gangs, traded gunfire which led to nine bikers being killed and 18 hospitalised. The SWAT team was eventually called in and managed to surround the gangs, although the scene was a rather grim one. Here’s the Daily Mail:

When the shooting ended bodies were scattered across the tarmac and cars were riddled with bullet holes…

[Police sergeant Patrick] Swanton Swanton said it was the worst violence he had seen in Waco since the siege in 1993. ‘We knew there was going to be trouble at this biker event,’ he said…

‘In 34 years of law enforcement, this is the worst crime scene, the most violent crime scene that I have been involved in. There were dead everywhere, blood everywhere.

The restaurant had earlier played host to around 200 bikers for what was supposed to be a recruitment drive in the midst of a meeting between the two gangs. It appears the Bandidos may have organised the meeting with violence in mind. This from the Daily Beast quoting a customer:

“There were maybe 30 guns being fired in the parking lot, maybe 100 rounds,” Logan said. “They just opened fire.”

“It was a setup,” she added.

I’m going to be honest, anyone with head tattoos gets a pretty wide berth from me. Many familiar with the biker gangs in Texas say this could be the first of many strikes in what may turn into a bloody war between the two rivals.

And you thought the prawns cycling around Cape Town in their toit lycra pants were bad…

[sources:dailymail&dailybeast]