Los Angeles – Thirty members of the Vagos motorcycle gang were arrested Wednesday in Riverside County, Calif., in an ongoing investigation against the group, which authorities described as “an extreme” threat to law enforcement officers.

About 400 officers took part in the multiagency operation, targeting 73 locations and seizing weapons and illegal drugs, authorities said.

The Vagos have at least 600 members in the Western U.S., half of them in California, authorities said.

Police shoot, kill costumed suspects

Gallatin, Tenn. – Two bank robbery suspects, including one dressed in a green leprechaun costume, were fatally shot Wednesday after a St. Patrick’s Day chase and shootout with police in Tennessee, authorities said.

First State Bank in the Nashville suburb of Gallatin was held up by a man who wore a green costume and carried a large-caliber gun at 12:28 p.m. Wednesday, said Sgt. Bill Storment, a spokesman for the Gallatin Police Department.

Police said two men were in a car that sped away from the bank, and they fired at police during the chase, disabling one police car. Storment said the two ditched their vehicle and ran into a field near a subdivision. They were killed while exchanging fire with officers, he said.

The case was reminiscent of the Dec. 22 robbery in Nashville when a man dressed in a Santa suit held up a SunTrust Bank, demanding money from the teller at gunpoint. No arrests have been made in that case.