9 dead in Texas shooting involving rival biker gangs

World Today

A law enforcement officer walks past debris near the parking lot of a Twin Peaks restaurant Sunday, May 17, 2015, in Waco, Texas. Waco Police Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton told KWTX-TV there were “multiple victims” after gunfire erupted between rival biker gangs at the restaurant. (Rod Aydelotte/Waco Tribune-Herald via AP)

A shooting involving rival biker gangs at a Central Texas restaurant has left nine people dead and some others wounded.

Waco police Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton said eight people died at the scene of the shooting at the Twin Peaks restaurant about noon Sunday and another person died at a hospital.

Swanton said the fight began with punches and then escalated to knives and firearms. It’s not immediately clear if bystanders are among the dead.

The severity of injuries to others were not immediately known.

He said police were aware that gang members were gathering at the restaurant and officers were present when shooting began.

Some of the officers fired on bikers as the shooting spilled from the restaurant into a busy parking lot. Patrons and bystanders dove for cover.

Report by Associated Press.