It’s been one year today since the deadly Twin Peaks shooting that left 9 dead; nearly 20 injured, and saw 177 people jailed on charges of engaging in organized criminal activity. Since then there’s been a slow drip of information about exactly what happened.
Just two days after the Twin Peaks shooting, scores of reporters and media trucks already filled the parking lot in the Central Texas Marketplace. The deadly brawl between the Cossacks and Bandidos quickly became national news: Nine people were dead, roughly 20 injured and nearly 200 jailed. A shroud of mystery hung over the scene, and there was a rush to find out what exactly happened. At the scene, Police Spokesperson, Sergeant Patrick Swanton advised the media to practice careful reporting.
“There was a media outlet that was reporting that law enforcement killed 4 of the individuals at this scene Sunday afternoon", Swanton said to media. "I will tell you whoever told you that, that person belongs on CSI, because the autopsies have not been completed and it’s impossible to determine that fact.”
Autopsy reports wouldn’t be released until nearly 3 months later.
The report confirmed the men had died from one or more gunshot wounds. But there weren’t any ballistics reports released along with the autopsies, so it remained uncertain who shot whom. But by December, after analyzing evidence, the Associated Press reported that 4 of the bikers killed at Twin Peaks, were shot by type of gun Waco police use.
This weekend, ahead of the one-year anniversary, bikers from across the state, gathered in downtown Waco. Like earlier protests and rallies held, bikers talked of injustice in the aftermath of the May 17th shooting. During a June protest, Mel Moss, president of the biker organization that put on both rallies, criticized the police and the County’s response. Like many he was still trying to figure out what happened.
"Whatever it was went out, when it was happening, in the parking lot, and the people inside they were not involved in that", Moss said, flanked by bikers who gathered in the parking lot across from the Courthouse. "For them to paint, with a broad brush, it’s like I said, we understand casting a big net to catch a few fish, but this is absurd.
Many of the nearly 200 arrested following the Twin Peaks shooting faced million dollar bonds. Critics called it a “cut and paste” approach, but Justice of the Peace Pete Peterson – who set the initial bonds – defended the bonds, saying they were meant to "send a message."
By late last year, those who were arrested were slowly being indicted on the charges. To date, there are nearly 160 indictments.
"The public has been fed a narrative that just simply isn't true, its been twisted so that they look better, which is really a shame."
Like then, much remains a mystery. But the release of surveillance videos and dashboard camera videos are slowly piecing together the events that led to the deadly shooting. Stephen Stubbs, an attorney from Las Vegas, told the Texas Standard, the videos paint a story different than what’s been told.
“It tells me that District Attorney Abel Reyna and the Waco Police Department are full of baloney. The public has been fed a narrative that just simply isn’t true, its been twisted so that they look better, which is really a shame.”
Stubbs helped to release many of the videos, but he isn’t representing anyone involved in the case. One year later, and no trial or trial dates have been set in the May 17th Twin Peaks shooting.
Officials with the District Attorneys office have said trial dates have been delayed, because of the size of the investigation and the amount of evidence being evaluated.