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San Jose Hells Angels Chief Killed In Nevada Casino Shootout

SPARKS, Nev. (CBS SF) -- The head of the San Jose chapter of Hells Angels has been killed in a gunfight at a Reno-area casino.

It happened at John Ascuaga's Nugget about 11:30 p.m Friday during the annual Street Vibrations motorcycle event.

Police said Hells Angels leader Jeffrey Pettigrew died in a shootout with members of the Vagos club. More than 20 shots were fired between the rival motorcycle groups.

"Whenever you have people who enter our city with bad intentions, bad things are gonna happen and that's what happened here last night," Sparks Mayor Geno Martini said.

Martini declared a state of emergency and canceled the rest of the weekend's events. He said there were fears of retaliation and a drive-by shooting outside the casino on Saturday morning was believed to be just that.

Two Vagos club members were wounded in the shooting.

(Copyright 2011 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved)

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