Also on Tuesday, experts revealed that confrontation between the Cossacks and the Bandidos - the two main gangs involved in the shooting - had been simmering for months when one biker's foot was apparently run over by a rival in a restaurant parking lot.
Police said the injury to the biker's foot is thought to have sparked the shootout when the rivals faced off at a gathering at a so-called 'breastauraunt'.
And Edward Winterhalder, a former member of the Bandidos who has written 10 books about biker gangs, told Daily Mail Online that the feud began when the Cossacks angered their rivals by putting a Texas patch on a territory-claiming part of their vests known as the 'bottom rocker' a year ago.
'The Cossacks decided they were big enough and strong enough,' he said. 'The Bandidos told them to take it off but they didn't back down.'
The Bandidos, who formed in Texas in 1966, have long dominated the territory over the Cossacks, who formed there three years after their rivals. There are now around 200 Cossacks in the area and 150 Bandidos, but the Bandidos have many more support biker groups than their rivals, he said.
Despite the long-standing tension, Winterhalder said he did not believe either gang had planned Sunday's clash.
'It got out of control in the moment,' he said. 'I don't know if we'll ever know who's to blame.'
[...]
The Bandidos are the biggest motorcycle gang in Texas, and they don't allow other motorcycle gangs to enter that state,' the informant, known as 'Charles Falco', told
CNN. 'They will allow other motorcycles clubs to exist, but they're not allowed to wear that state bottom rocker. If they do, they face the onslaught of the Bandidos.
'The Cossacks decided that they were big enough now to go ahead and wear the Texas bottom rocker, and basically tell the Bandidos that they're ready for war.'
At a press conference on Tuesday, Police Sergeant Patrick Swanton said that authorities agree the fight was 'somewhat of a turf war'.
One group of biker members had planned to meet at the restaurant and several gangs were invited, he said. But an additional biker gang that was not invited also showed up, he said.
He added that there was also a disturbance in the parking lot as members arrived, and they are investigating whether someone's foot was run over by a car. Authorities previously said several witnesses told them that the brawl was sparked by an argument over a restaurant parking space, the
Dallas Morning News reported.
But there were also crime scenes inside the restaurant, including in the bar area and the restroom.