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WACO (1080 KRLD) – Most members of the Cossacks motorcycle gang are laying low after this weekend’s gun battle in Waco that left nine dead, 17 wounded and some 170 in jail.
According to police, there was a planned meeting of several biker gangs at the Waco Twin Peaks restaurant on Sunday – and an uninvited biker gang showed up.
‘Tony’, a member of the Cossacks gang from Henderson County, spoke with 1080 KRLD under the condition that we do not identify him out of concerns for his safety. “I’m not supposed to be talking to anybody but I don’t think I’m hurtin’ anything.”
Tony, who said was not in Waco at the time, claims the Bandidos motorcycle gang is to blame for Sunday’s bloodbath. “We (the club) went down there to talk and it started into a shoving match – the Bandidos fired the first shot.”
The Bandidos, rumored to be headquartered out of San Leon, Texas, are considered by the FBI to be an “outlaw motorcycle gang.”
According to Heavy.com, the two motorcycle gangs have been feuding since 2013, when the president of the Abilene, Texas, chapter of the Bandidos was arrested on allegations of stabbing two Cossacks.
“We’re not a criminal motorcycle gang, we’re a family oriented club – we’re not into anything illegal.” Tony says most Cossacks members aren’t wearing their colors until this feud is resolved.
“We’ve got to look over our shoulder wherever we go.” said Tony. “We’re not even wearing any rags (identifiable markings), we’re afraid to – we’ll be a target.”
Tony claims “We’re just good.” He said, “If you check into it we’ve got five or six toy runs across the state – for Christmas – we have a toys for tykes in Big Springs Texas that we give away over a hundred bicycles.” He said that the Cossacks have their own Chaplains Chapter that tends to their religious needs. “We’re just like the Lion’s Club or the Kiwanis or anybody else except we rid motorcycles.”
In talking about the rivalry with the Bandidos, Tony claims, “they run us off the road… they beat us with baseball bats… jump us… and most the time – if we’re aware of it – our guys win.”
“They’re pissed off cause we’re stronger than they are. You know they’re just fat, lazy people that sit around and do drugs and don’t work. We’re physically fit… our guys win most of the time and that makes ’em mad.”
Waco police are on alert following reports that gang members from out of state may be rolling into to town looking to settle scores.
Photos: Suspect Mugshots From Waco Gang Battle
Of the 18 bikers wounded in the melee, seven remain in local hospitals in stable condition. The names of the deceased have not been released due to next of kin notification according to Waco police.
Of those arrested, each is being held on $1 million bond on charges of engaging in organized crime leading to capital murder.
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