Well, it certainly was a festive weekend at the ol' Twin Peaks bistro this weekend.

The gunfire erupted about 12:15 p.m. on Sunday outside the restaurant, and the fight spilled into the parking lot, initially involving just fists and feet, but escalating quickly to chains, knives, clubs and firearms. Waco officers were already at the scene when the confrontation unfolded because they had anticipated problems as hundreds of bikers from at least five groups gathered at the shopping plaza. "There were multiple people on the scene firing weapons at each other," Sergeant Swanton said. "They then turned on our officers. Our officers returned gunfire, wounding and possibly killing several."

I am sure that, when the dust settles, and the 200-odd (!) people who were arrested get arraigned, we will hear a great deal from the usual suspects about the cultural pathologies inherent in white society that are at the root of episodes like this one. David Brooks will notice that white people -- many of whom wear ponytails and mullets -- also tend to fk without his approval, and Ross Cardinal Douthat will wonder whether we'd even have motorcycle gangs if Pius XII were still alive. Earnest pundits on television will agree that we must discover immediately how many of the assembled grew up in two-parent homes.

"There were so many rounds fired from bad-guy weapons here, it is amazing that innocent civilians were not injured here," said Sergeant Swanton, who added that investigators expected to recover about 100 weapons. "In 34 years of law enforcement, this is the worst crime scene — the most violent crime scene — that I have ever been involved in. There are dead people still there. There is blood everywhere." The police did not identify the groups involved, but photographs of the members who were arrested showed a number of them in leather jackets bearing the names of at least three motorcycle clubs: Bandidos, Cossacks and Scimitars.

And the rap music. Don't forget about the rap music.

Sure were a lot of guns there, though. Accidents will happen, I guess, if you happen to be a Scimitar.

Charles P. Pierce Charles P Pierce is the author of four books, most recently Idiot America, and has been a working journalist since 1976.

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