Waco siege

Waco siege
The Mount Carmel Center engulfed in flames on April 19, 1993
DateFebruary 28 – April 19, 1993 (51 days)
Location
Mount Carmel Center, McLennan County, Texas, U.S. thirteen miles from Waco.

31°35′45″N 96°59′17″W / 31.59583°N 96.98806°W / 31.59583; -96.98806
Caused by
  • Suspected weapons violations[1]
  • Cause of fire disputed
Goals
  • Attempt to serve search and arrest warrants by the ATF
  • Attempt to end the 51-day siege by the FBI
Resulted inFire destroys compound: 86 dead in total
Parties
Lead figures
Number
Hundreds of ATF and FBI agents
126 Branch Davidians (including 46 children; 82 killed, 35 released, 9 escaped from the fire)[5][6]
Casualties and losses
4 ATF agents killed
16 wounded
Total: 4 killed
6 killed on February 28
76 killed on April 19 (including 28 children)
11 wounded
Total: 82 killed
Mount Carmel Center is located in Texas
Mount Carmel Center
Mount Carmel Center
Location within Texas

The Waco siege, also known as the Waco massacre,[7][8][9][10] was the siege by U.S. federal government and Texas state law enforcement officials of a compound belonging to the religious cult known as the Branch Davidians, between February 28 and April 19, 1993.[11] The Branch Davidians, led by David Koresh, were headquartered at Mount Carmel Center ranch in unincorporated McLennan County, Texas,[12][13][14] 13 miles (21 kilometers) northeast of Waco. Suspecting the group of stockpiling illegal weapons, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) obtained a search warrant for the compound and arrest warrants for Koresh and several of the group's members.

The ATF had planned a sudden daylight raid of the ranch in order to serve these warrants. Any advantage of surprise was lost when a local reporter who had been tipped off about the raid asked for directions from a U.S. Postal Service mail carrier who was coincidentally Koresh's brother-in-law. Thus, the group's members were fully armed and prepared; upon the ATF initiating the raid, an intense gunfight erupted, resulting in the deaths of four ATF agents and six Branch Davidians. Following the ATF entering the property and its failure to execute the search warrant, a siege was initiated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), during which negotiations between the parties attempted to reach a compromise.

After 51 days, on April 19, 1993, the FBI launched a tear gas attack in an attempt to force the Branch Davidians out of the compound's buildings. Shortly thereafter, the Mount Carmel Center became engulfed in flames. The fire and the reaction to the final attack within the group resulted in the deaths of 76 Branch Davidians, including 20–28 children and David Koresh.[15][16]

The events of the siege and attack, particularly the origin of the fire, are disputed by various sources. Department of Justice reports from October 1993 and July 2000 conclude that although incendiary tear gas canisters were used by the FBI, the Branch Davidians had started the fire, citing evidence from audio surveillance recordings of very specific discussions between Koresh and others about pouring more fuel on piles of hay as the fires started, and from aerial footage showing at least three simultaneous ignition points at different locations in the building complex.[17][18][19] The FBI contends that none of their agents fired any live rounds on the day of the fire.[18] Critics contend that live rounds were indeed fired by law enforcement, and suggest that a combination of gunshots and flammable tear gas was the true cause of the fire.[20][21][22]

The Ruby Ridge standoff and the Waco siege were cited by Timothy McVeigh as the main reasons for his and Terry Nichols's plan to execute the Oklahoma City bombing exactly two years later, on April 19, 1995, as well as the modern-day American militia movement.[23][24]

  1. ^ Report of the Department of the Treasury on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms Investigation of Vernon Wayne Howell Also Known as David Koresh, September 1993 Archived April 2, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, PDF of actual report, p. 8.
  2. ^ O'Hanlon, Ray (February 16, 2011). "Inside File: SAS at Waco, too". Irish Echo. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
  3. ^ River, Charles (2018). The Special Air Service: The History of the Secret British Special Forces Unit from World War II to Today. Charles River Editors. p. 60.
  4. ^ Report of the Department of the Treasury on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms Investigation of Vernon Wayne Howell Also Known as David Koresh. the Department. September 1993. pp. 51, 77. ISBN 9780160242052. Archived from the original on April 2, 2016. Retrieved January 1, 2016.
  5. ^ "Survivors of 1993 Waco siege describe what happened in fire that ended the 51-day standoff". ABC News. January 3, 2018. Archived from the original on May 23, 2022. Retrieved April 1, 2022. The article publicized an ABC documentary "Truth and Lies: Waco" broadcast on January 4. The article states "about 80 people, including more than 20 children, died in the fire. Only nine people survived." It also states that there were 46 children inside the compound at the start of the siege, 21 of whom were released during the first five days of negotiations.
  6. ^ "25 Years After The Tanks, Tear Gas And Flames, 'Waco' Returns To TV". National Public Radio. January 23, 2018. Archived from the original on January 28, 2022. Retrieved September 8, 2022. The article features an interview with FBI negotiator Gary Noesner. The article states "35 people out through the negotiation process, including 21 children."
  7. ^ Zarrell, Matt (December 27, 2017). "U.S. UPS driver still haunted over role in Waco massacre nearly 25 years later". Daily News. Archived from the original on May 29, 2020. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
  8. ^ Pearson, Muriel; Wilking, Spencer; Effron, Lauren (January 3, 2018). "Survivors of 1993 Waco siege describe what happened in fire that ended the 51-day standoff". ABC News. Archived from the original on November 29, 2020. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
  9. ^ Burton, Tara Isabella (April 19, 2018). "The Waco tragedy, explained". Vox. Archived from the original on April 23, 2020. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
  10. ^ "25 years after the Waco massacre, a DO remembers the fire and the victims". The DO. April 16, 2018. Archived from the original on July 25, 2021. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
  11. ^ Justin Sturken; Mary Dore (February 28, 2007). "Remembering the Waco Siege". ABC News. Archived from the original on August 3, 2008. Retrieved June 23, 2008.
  12. ^ Wright, Stuart A. (1995). Armageddon in Waco: Critical Perspectives on the Branch Davidian Conflict. University of Chicago Press. p. 269. ISBN 978-0-226-90844-1.
  13. ^ Smyrl, Vivian Elizabeth (June 12, 2010). "Elk, Texas". Handbook of Texas – Texas State Historical Association. Archived from the original on June 5, 2013. Retrieved November 25, 2012.
  14. ^ Ames, Eric S (2009). Images of America WACO. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-7131-7.
  15. ^ Dick J. Reavis, The Ashes of Waco: An Investigation (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1995), p. 13 Archived March 18, 2017, at the Wayback Machine. ISBN 0-684-81132-4
  16. ^ Gennaro Vito, Jeffrey Maahs,Criminology: Theory, Research, and Policy, Edition 3, revised, Jones & Bartlett Publishers, 2011, ISBN 0763766658, 978-0763766658, p. 340 Archived March 18, 2017, at the Wayback Machine
  17. ^ "Report to the Deputy Attorney General on the Events at Waco, Texas: Appendix D. Arson Report". www.justice.gov. September 15, 2014. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
  18. ^ a b "FBI chief hails new Waco report". CNN.com. CNN. Archived from the original on January 31, 2020. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
  19. ^ "Waco - The Inside Story". pbs.org. PBS. Archived from the original on September 30, 2017. Retrieved April 28, 2020.
  20. ^ "The Waco tragedy, explained". Vox.com. April 19, 2018.
  21. ^ "The Real Story Behind the Waco Siege: Who Were David Koresh and the Branch Davidians?". Time. January 24, 2018.
  22. ^ "What Really Happened At Waco". CBS News. January 25, 2000.
  23. ^ "Timothy McVeigh in Waco". Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  24. ^ Niebuhr, Gustav (April 26, 1995). "Terror in Oklahoma: Religion; Assault on Waco Sect Fuels Extremists' Rage". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 18, 2018. Retrieved August 18, 2018.