Dramatic surveillance video released Thursday shows the moment gunfire erupted in wild-west style shootout between two biker gangs in Waco, Texas that left nine people dead.
The gun battle between the two gangs, identified by police as the Bandidos and the Cossacks at the Twin Peaks restaurant on May 17 killed nine people, injured 18 others and led to the arrest of 177 people.
In the restaurant security video members of both biker gangs appear to be standing on the restaurant patio looking in the direction of the parking lot. Suddenly they can be seen scrambling for cover with guns drawn and crawling under tables for cover. The silent video appears to show at least three people holding guns and one of the bikers firing his weapon from the patio.
WATCH: Raw footage shows the moment shots started firing
READ MORE: Waco has long history of memorable events, including 1993 standoff
The video also shows terrified restaurant workers running for cover. It ends with a parade of bikers surrendering with their hands up.
In a statement the Waco Police department denied releasing the video.
“There is a small pool of individuals that include defense attorneys who had access to the information through discovery,” Waco Police spokesman Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton in a statement. “The party responsible for providing the released video and photographs may be subject to ethical and legal issues for doing so.”
Witnesses to the incident say the shooting began after a Bandido hit a prospective member of the Cossacks with his motorcycle, according to thousands of pages of police evidence.
Despite the more than 400 weapons recovered from the crime scene none of the 177 people who were arrested in the aftermath of the shooting have been charged.
In Canada, the Bandidos were involved in a war with the Hells Angels in Quebec in the early 2000s. The biker gang was also involved in the slaughter of eight of its members on a farm near London, Ont. in April 2006.
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