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4 Of 9 Killed In Waco Biker Gang Shootout Were From North Texas

Waco Police Department/Facebook
Nine motorcycle gang members were killed Sunday at the Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco.

Five stories that have North Texas talking: North Texas ties to the Waco shootout; tornadoes hit parts of Dallas-Fort Worth Tuesday night; a Blue Bell lawsuit; and more.

Four of the nine motorcycle biker gang members killed in Sunday’s shootout in Waco were from North Texas. Preliminary autopsy reports were released Tuesday. They include Matthew Mark Smith, 27, of Keller; Richard Vincent Kirschner, 47, of Richardson; Wayne Lee Campbell, 43, of Fort Worth; and Manuel Isaac Rodriguez, 40, of Allen. The autopsy reports show the nine people all died of gunshot wounds. The reports provided by a McLennan County justice of the peace show the nine men ranged in age from 27 to 65, and some were shot in the head, neck or torso. Police have said all the dead were members of two of the five biker gangs that gathered for a meeting at a Twin Peaks restaurant. Waco police Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton says about 50 weapons have been confiscated from the scene, primarily knives and firearms. The Waco Tribune-Herald has more details. [Associated Press]

  • Tornadoes roared across North Texas Tuesday evening, spreading widespread damage but leaving no immediate reports of injuries. What storm spotters reported as at least one tornado inflicted heavy damage late Tuesday night to houses and apartment buildings in the Runaway Bay and Booneville, about 50 miles northwest of Fort Worth. One and perhaps two tornadoes struck the old North Texas resort town of Mineral Wells earlier Tuesday evening, causing widespread damage. There were no immediate reports of injuries from either storm. In Mineral Wells, a part of First Baptist Church was damaged. Power was out in some parts of the city. Read more here. [Associated Press/KERA]

  • A man has sued Blue Bell, saying he nearly died after eating contaminated ice cream. The Dallas Morning News reports: “A 32-year-old former Houston man … has filed what attorneys say is probably the first suit to stem from a massive product recall. David Philip Shockley was an administrator at a retirement community in 2013 when he ‘consumed a variety of Blue Bell ice cream products contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes,’ according to a lengthy suit filed late Tuesday in federal court in Austin. … Blue Bell officials could not be reached for comment late Tuesday.” [The Dallas Morning News]

  • Rick Perry says he wouldn’t have ordered the invasion of Iraq. The Texas Tribune reports:“Former Gov. Rick Perry on Monday weighed in on the latest issue to animate the GOP’s 2016 presidential field, volunteering that he would not have invaded Iraq knowing what he does now.  Perry raised the issue while discussing the news that the Islamic State group had seized control of the key Iraqi city of Ramadi, which a U.S.-led coalition has been working to defend. He called the development an “extraordinary negative headline” given how many U.S. lives were lost in the region during the Iraq War. “You know, this whole issue of — this question that gets asked, ‘If you — with what you know today, would you have ordered the invasion of Iraq?’” Perry told a breakfast audience here. "I think if you look what’s happened today, and the answer is no. I mean, with that hindsight, no, I would not have done that.” Read more here. [Texas Tribune]

  • Mobile home communities in Austin are organizing – and forming new neighborhood associations. KUT in Austin reports: “One of them filed a lawsuit against the company that owns the land where their mobile homes are. Residents at Stonegate Mobile Home Park in North Central Austin say they can't stand their living conditions anymore. David Jaimes, one of the residents, says they live in constant fear of retaliation. Jaimes says every time neighbors ask management to fix something in the community, management threatens to evict them, or calls the police.” [KUT/Austin]
Eric Aasen is KERA’s managing editor. He helps lead the station's news department, including radio and digital reporters, producers and newscasters. He also oversees keranews.org, the station’s news website, and manages the station's digital news projects. He reports and writes stories for the website and contributes pieces to KERA radio. He's discussed breaking news live on various public radio programs, including The Takeaway, Here & Now and Texas Standard, as well as radio and TV programs in New Zealand and the United Kingdom.