Hells Angels Boss Shot Dead in Casino

The boss of a Hells Angels gang was killed and two rival bikers were injured in a weekend shootout at a Nevada casino. A second drive-by shooting of a biker later triggered a state of emergency in the town of Sparks, though it wasn't clear if the shootings were related. Jeffrey "Jethro" Pettigrew, 51, the leader of the Hells Angels San Jose bikers, was killed in the first shooting during a confrontation with members of the Vagos motorcycle gang, according to cops. Shots were fired in the middle of the Nugget hotel and casino near Reno, but only the three bikers were struck by bullets, reports ABC News.

One biker was busted for assault with a deadly weapon, but police don't believe his bullet killed Pettigrew. The casino shooting was triggered after a fistfight broke out among the bikers near the slot machines, a witness told the Reno Gazette-Journal. A member of the Hells Angels went "down with a bloody nose, gets up and pulls out the gun and that's the first shot," said the witness. "By the third shot we were already running." The state of emergency was lifted yesterday. An investigation is continuing. (More Hells Angels stories.)