51-day Waco siege begins after four ATF agents and six Branch Davidians are killed in shootout at religious sect’s compound 30 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Feb 28 1993)

1990s


Video: 'Waco Shootout | Eyewitness News 2-28-1993'

(Sunday, February 28, 1993, 9:45 a.m. CST; during the Waco siege) — A gun battle erupted today at Mount Carmel Center ranch in the community of Axtell, Texas, 13 miles northeast of Waco, when Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents tried to arrest Branch Davidian leader David Koresh on weapons charges; four agents and six Davidians were killed as a 51-day standoff began.

The Branch Davidians originated in the late 1950s as a sub-group of the Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist Church. Under the leadership of Benjamin Roden, they took control of the Mount Carmel religious settlement and prepared for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

The mid-1980s saw a power struggle from which Vernon Howell, who later renamed himself, David Koresh, emerged as the new leader of the group. Shortly after this, Howell announced that God had told him that he should take multiple wives, with reports stating that some of these were as young as 11 years old.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms had already been watching the Mount Carmel compound due to concerns that Koresh and his followers were stockpiling illegal weapons.


Video: '28th February 1993: Beginning of the Waco siege of the Branch Davidian Church in Texas'

The ATF began making plans to raid the compound in late February. The agency was prompted to action after the Waco Tribune-Herald newspaper began to publish a series of articles that included allegations of child abuse within the cult.

When the ATF attempted to serve a search and arrest warrant on the ranch today, an intense gunfight erupted, resulting in the deaths of four ATF agents and six Branch Davidians.

Upon the ATF’s entering of the property and failure to execute the search warrant, a siege lasting 51 days was initiated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Eventually, the FBI initiated a tear gas attack on Apr. 19, 1993, in an attempt to force the Branch Davidians out of the ranch. Shortly thereafter, the Mount Carmel Center became engulfed in flames.

The fire resulted in the deaths of 76 Branch Davidians, including 25 children, two pregnant women, and David Koresh.