National Western Complex shootout | |||
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Date | January 30, 2016 ; 12:48 p.m. | ||
Location | |||
Caused by | Rivalries between motorcycle clubs | ||
Methods | Shooting, stabbing, beating | ||
Parties | |||
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Number | |||
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Casualties | |||
Death(s) | 1 | ||
Injuries | 7 | ||
Arrested | 1 |
On January 30, 2016, a brawl involving gunfire and knives broke out between rival motorcycle clubs at the National Western Complex, in Denver, Colorado. One person was killed and seven others were injured. [1]
On January 30, police responded to a brawl that broke out between rival motorcycle clubs inside the National Western Complex, located near the Denver Coliseum just north of Interstate 70. [2] The Complex was hosting the 38th Annual Colorado Motorcycle Exposition, where motorcycle clubs across the country had gathered, including the Bandidos Motorcycle Club and Hells Angels. [1] [3] [4]
The Iron Order Motorcycle Club had 16 of its members in attendance at the expo, and only stayed for an hour. In an attempt to leave the expo, the group left down a flight of stairs near the basement of the complex, where several Mongols had booths selling T-shirts. Three Iron Order members were separated and confronted by a much larger group of around 30 members of the Mongols Motorcycle Club, a Mongol challenged them and told them to leave. A Mongol approached them and knocked a beer out of the hands of an African American Iron Order member while yelling a racial slur at him. [5] [6]
A fist and knife fight broke out at 12:48 p.m., with several Iron Order members being severely beaten and stabbed. In response an Iron Order member who works for the Colorado Department of Corrections, pulled out his gun and fired one shot into the ceiling. A Mongol charged at him but was gunned down and injured. Another Mongol attempted to tackle the gunman as he fled up the stairs, but was struck and fatally injured. [2]
An Iron Order member was handcuffed and taken into custody Saturday following the brawl. [2]
According to the medical examiner's report, seven people were injured. Three remain in critical condition, three are stable, and one other person suffered lesser injuries. [7] The sole fatality was identified as 46-year-old Victor Mendoza, a Mongol who was shot in the chest. [4]
The emergency room at Rocky Mountain Regional Trauma Center, where the injured were taken, was placed on lockdown by the Denver Police Department out of fear of the conflict spreading. [1]
Dr. Kevin McVaney of the Denver Health Medical Center said three were in critical condition, suffering gunshot wounds, while the six others were reported as being stable. [1] The two gravely injured were said to be members of the Mongols and Iron Order. [7]
As a result of the shooting, the second day of the motorcycle expo was cancelled. [8]
The Denver Police Department has released few details of the incident. According to the Associated Press in 2016, the Iron Order formed in 2004 and is one of the fastest growing motorcycle clubs in the U.S. [9]
An outlaw motorcycle club, known colloquially as a biker gang or motorcycle gang, is a motorcycle subculture generally centered on the use of cruiser motorcycles, particularly Harley-Davidsons and choppers, and a set of ideals that purport to celebrate freedom, nonconformity to mainstream culture, and loyalty to the biker group.
The Mongols Motorcycle Club, also known as the Mongol Brotherhood or Mongol Nation, is an international outlaw motorcycle club. Originally formed in Montebello, California, in 1969, the club is headquartered in Southern California. Although the Mongols' main presence lies in California, they also have chapters nationwide in 14 states and internationally in 11 countries. Law enforcement officials estimate approximately 2,000 "full-patched" members are in the club. The Mongols are the fifth-largest outlaw biker club in the world, after the Hells Angels, the Bandidos, the Outlaws and the Pagans.
The Sons of Silence Motorcycle Club (SOSMC) is an international outlaw motorcycle club. Founded in Niwot, Colorado in the United States in 1966, the club has a membership of over 250, with 35 chapters based in 12 U.S. states and in Germany. The Sons of Silence are the sixth-largest motorcycle club in the world, behind the Hells Angels, the Bandidos, the Outlaws, the Pagans and the Mongols.
The Blue Angels Motorcycle Club (BAMC) is an international outlaw motorcycle gang formed in Glasgow, Scotland in 1963. The Blue Angels MC is the oldest outlaw biker club in Europe, and one of the largest and most powerful clubs in the United Kingdom. The club has chapters in Scotland, England, Belgium and Spain.
The Comanchero Motorcycle Club is an outlaw motorcycle gang in Australia and South East Asia. The Comancheros are participants in the United Motorcycle Council of NSW, which convened a conference in 2009 to address legislation aimed against the "bikie" clubs, their poor public image in the wake of several violent clashes and ongoing biker wars, and defusing deadly feuds such as the Comancheros' battles with the Hells Angels. The sincerity of these efforts to defend the battered image of the clubs has been met with skepticism.
The Finks are an Australian outlaw motorcycle club that was formed in Adelaide, Australia, in 1969 and now also has chapters in other states. The name comes from The Wizard of Id cartoon where the peasants, to his dismay, often proclaim, "The King is a fink!". The logo used by the Finks is of Bung, the king's jester. The pants worn by the jester used to differ in colour depending on the state the chapter resides in.
The Gypsy Joker Motorcycle Club (GJMC), are a "one-percenter" motorcycle club that was originally formed in San Bernardino, California on April Fool's Day, 1956. Though founded in the United States, the MC expanded successfully overseas and is now one of the most notorious motorcycle clubs in Australia, the United States, and Norway.
Numerous police and international intelligence agencies classify the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) as a motorcycle gang and contend that members carry out widespread violent crimes, including drug dealing, trafficking in stolen goods, gunrunning, extortion, and prostitution operations. Members of the organization have continuously asserted that they are only a group of motorcycle enthusiasts who have joined to ride motorcycles together, to organize social events such as group road trips, fundraisers, parties, and motorcycle rallies, and that any crimes are the responsibility of the individuals who carried them out and not the club as a whole. Members of the club have been accused of crimes and/or convicted in many host nations.
On July 20, 2012, a mass shooting occurred inside a Century 16 movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, United States, during a midnight screening of the film The Dark Knight Rises. Dressed in tactical clothing, 24-year-old James Holmes set off tear gas grenades and shot into the audience with multiple firearms. Twelve people were killed, and 70 others were injured, 58 of them from gunfire.
On May 17, 2015, in Waco, Texas, United States, a shootout erupted at a Twin Peaks restaurant where more than 200 persons, including members from motorcycle clubs that included the Bandidos, Cossacks, and allies, had gathered for a meeting about political rights for motorcyclists. Law enforcement, which included 18 Waco Police Department officers and four Texas Highway Patrol troopers, had gathered to monitor the restaurant and meeting from outside, and, according to police, "returned fire after being shot at". Nine bikers were killed, 18 others wounded or injured, and 177 individuals were ultimately arrested and initially detained in connection with the shootout, most for alleged participation in organized crime. According to The New York Times, "the response by prosecutors was widely criticized as brazen overreach". According to the Waco Tribune-Herald, the shootout led to a "four-year prosecutorial fiasco that resulted in zero convictions."
Iron Order Motorcycle Club (IOMC) is a motorcycle club that was formed on July 4, 2004, in Jeffersonville, Indiana. With a worldwide membership, the Iron Order is one of the largest and fastest growing motorcycle clubs in the world. The IOMC has chapters in nearly every U.S. state and in 11 countries around the world. It is an all inclusive club and any are free to join membership is open to all members of society
Numerous police and international intelligence agencies classify the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club as a motorcycle gang and contend that members carry out widespread violent crimes, including drug dealing, trafficking in stolen goods, gunrunning, extortion, and prostitution rings. Members of the organization have continuously asserted that they are only a group of motorcycle enthusiasts who have joined to ride motorcycles together, to organize social events such as group road trips, fundraisers, parties, and motorcycle rallies, and that any crimes are the responsibility of the individuals who carried them out and not the club as a whole.
The Rock Machine–Rebels conflict is an ongoing conflict between the Rock Machine and Rebels motorcycle gangs in Perth, Western Australia. The conflict began in 2009 and has continued sporadically, with both clubs competing for territory and control of criminal rackets.
The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) is designated an outlaw motorcycle gang by the Department of Justice. There are an estimated 92 Hells Angels chapters in 27 U.S. states, with a membership of over 800. Due to the club's designation as a "known criminal organization" by the State Department and Department of Homeland Security, the United States has a federal policy prohibiting its foreign members from entering the country. The Hells Angels partake in drug trafficking, gunrunning, extortion, money laundering, insurance fraud, kidnapping, robbery, theft, counterfeiting, contraband smuggling, loan sharking, prostitution, trafficking in stolen goods, motorcycle and motorcycle parts theft, assault, murder, bombings, arson, intimidation and contract killing. The club's role in the narcotics trade involves the production, transportation and distribution of marijuana and methamphetamine, in addition to the transportation and distribution of cocaine, hashish, heroin, LSD, MDMA, PCP and diverted pharmaceuticals. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the HAMC may earn up to $1 billion in drug sales annually.
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The Bandidos Motorcycle Club has been designated an outlaw motorcycle gang by the U.S. Department of Justice. The club is involved in drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, prostitution, money laundering, explosives violations, motorcycle and motorcycle-parts theft, intimidation, insurance fraud, kidnapping, robbery, theft, stolen property, counterfeiting, contraband smuggling, murder, bombings, extortion, arson and assault. The Bandidos partake in transporting and distributing cocaine and marijuana, and the production, transportation and distribution of methamphetamine. Active primarily in the Northwestern, Southeastern, Southwestern and the West Central regions, there are an estimated 800 to 1,000 Bandidos members and 93 chapters in 16 U.S. states.
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