What happened to the Branch Davidians at Waco?

In April 1993, some 75 members of the millennial sect known as the Branch Davidians – including their messianic leader, David Koresh – perished in the blaze that destroyed their compound near Waco, Texas, after a 51-day siege by federal agents.

Why did the ATF raid Waco Texas?

On February 28, 1993, some 80 agents from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) raided a religious compound at Mount Carmel, near Waco, Texas, after receiving reports that the Branch Davidians and their leader, David Koresh, were violating federal firearms regulations.

Did the FBI start the Waco fires?

Though the government long maintained that its actions played no role in starting the fires at the Waco compound, in 1999 it was revealed that some of the gas the FBI used was flammable under certain conditions. Reno subsequently appointed the lawyer and former senator John Danforth to lead an investigation into the siege’s end.

Were Branch Davidians killed by the FBI?

Among those killed were a 3-year-old boy who was fatally stabbed in the chest and two other minors who suffered fatal blows to the head, according to the FBI. David Thibodeau, one of only nine Branch Davidian members to survive the fire, told TIME in a r ecent interview that he believes the dead Branch Davidians were shot by the FBI.

What happened in the Waco Siege of 1993?

Waco Siege. Contents. The Waco Siege began in early 1993, when a government raid on a compound near Waco, Texas, led to a 51-day standoff between federal agents and members of a millennial Christian sect called the Branch Davidians.

What happened at the Branch Davidian compound in 1993?

FBI agents unload from a pickup truck, March 12, 1993, near the Branch Davidian religious compound. It led to a 51-day standoff with FBI negotiators making several attempts to reach a peaceful outcome with the sect’s leader David Koresh, especially for the release of the 46 children inside the compound.