Three men, all motorcycle gang members, were killed and about a dozen others were injured in a shooting and knifing brawl that broke out in Harrah's casino early this morning among rival bikers attending a huge annual motorcycle rally, the authorities said.
Another man, apparently also a biker, was found fatally shot this morning on Interstate 40 just across the border in California, said Sgt. Chris Darcy of the Las Vegas Police Department, which helps patrol Laughlin, a Colorado River gambling resort about 90 miles south of Las Vegas. It was not immediately clear whether his death was related to the casino shootings, the police said.
The police said the fight erupted when a member of the Mongol motorcycle gang walked into a group of Hells Angels near the casino entrance. Sixty to 70 people, armed with guns and knives, were involved, the authorities said.
All three of the dead were bikers, the police said, adding that numerous people were arrested and a handgun was recovered.
Several people at the rally said tensions had been brewing between members of the Hells Angels and the Mongols, and the fight had resulted from a territorial dispute. It was most likely the worst case of casino violence in the history of the state, Sergeant Darcy said.
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The shooting came on the first night of River Run, the annual motorcycle rally in Laughlin. The rally has been held for 20 years and is considered by its promoters to be the West's largest ride-in motorcycle show, drawing about 50,000 participants a year. It is directed primarily at Harley-Davidson fans, which means it attracts bikers from clubs around the country, who come to gape at new models and to ride up and down the strip.
Until late yesterday afternoon, about a hundred gang members were still sequestered inside the Harrah's casino, being questioned by the police.
''It's very difficult to track everything down,'' Sergeant Darcy said. ''It's not as if this was one person shooting one other person. There were many, many people involved.''
Outside, the main strip was humming with thousands of bikers undeterred by this morning's violence and gunning their Harley-Davidson hogs as they rode slowly past the site of the melee. Only a few stopped to crane their necks past the yellow police tape.
Across the street, bikers sat under the temporary awnings rigged off their campers and RV's, as billboard-size banners for Jim Beam and Coors fluttered behind them and the music of Lynyrd Skynyrd and Rush providing a tinny sound track that could only occasionally be heard over the desert wind.
The sign at the main entrance to town was still flashing a warning not to bring bottles or cans onto Laughlin Civic Drive. Also at the entrance was a notice that anyone younger than 16 was under curfew from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. The neon sign at Harrah's was still flashing the happy phrase: ''Welcome Bikers / 25 cent craps.''
The highways into and out of the town were closed after the brawl, which began around 2:15 this morning.
Denise Massey, 48, was gambling with her fiancé on the first floor of Harrah's when she noticed 20 to 30 bikers suddenly converge.
''Next thing you know you just hear 'Bam, bam, bam,' '' Ms. Massey told The Associated Press. ''All of a sudden they're running and just shooting at each other.''
According to the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the Mongols are one of the most violent and criminally active motorcycle gangs in Southern California. Two years ago, the authorities arrested 29 Mongols on racketeering and other charges in Oklahoma, Georgia and California after an undercover operation in which an A.T.F. special agent infiltrated the club. During the investigation, the authorities recovered more than 70 firearms, including two machine guns.
Seven people injured in this morning's violence were sent to the Western Arizona Regional Medical Center across the river in Bullhead City, Ariz. University Medical Center in Las Vegas was treating five patients.
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