Who Are The Scimitars?

A brawl outside a Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco, Texas, left at least nine people dead and 18 people injured, mostly from gunshot or knife wounds, according to officials. While the Bandidos and the Cossacks motorcycle clubs have been identified to be at the center of the shootout, a total of at least five biker gangs were involved in the deadly conflict, authorities said. So what is the Scimitars Motorcycle Club?

There are more than 300 outlaw motorcycle gangs in the country, according to the Department of Justice, and the Bandidos are considered one of the biggest, along with its main rival, the Hells Angels. The Cossacks and the Scimitars appear to be smaller organizations whose activities are more localized in Texas. When it comes to federal agencies' different watch lists, the Scimitars' name is absent.

The Scimitars are believed to have been allied with the Cossacks in Sunday's fight. People wearing the Scimitars' jackets were photographed sitting among Cossacks members after the shootout took place. According to the International Business Times, others displaying the Veterans' and Leathernecks' colors were seen with the Cossacks as well. The Scimitars and the Cossacks have even worked together in the past when it came to community projects. Last May, online newspaper Odessa American published a photo showing the Scimitars and Cossacks building a playground together in Odessa, Texas.

Biker gangs have been known to ally with other clubs, particularly when it comes to taking on common enemies. The Cossacks and the Bandidos may have been feuding since 2013, when member Curtis Jack Lewis, the president of the Abilene, Texas, chapter, was arrested for allegedly stabbing two Cossacks members. That may have led to the Cossacks' joining forces with the Bandidos' nemesis Hells Angels in the past.

To police spokesman Sgt. Patrick Swanton, there was no question the groups involved in Sunday's deadly fight were gangs. At a news conference, Swanton said the argument began over a parking squabble and quickly escalated into a fight with fists, knives, and guns, with more than 100 weapons confiscated at the scene. All of the fatalities were biker gang members, he said.

They are a biker gang. We know exactly who they are: A bunch of criminal element biker members that came to Waco and tried to instill violence into our community and unfortunately did just that.