Waco Siege – what happened at Mount Carmel in Texas and who are Branch Davidians?
For 51 days in 1993, members of a doomsday religious group held out against hundreds of FBI agents, despite being surrounded by tanks and armoured vehicles
SKINNY, handsome preacher David Koresh – who played guitar to his loyal followers and dreamed of becoming a rock star – died more than two decades ago in the deadly Waco siege.
Regarded as one of the most notorious incidents in American history, the Sun Online looks at how the religious compound became a huge fireball in Texas, killing about 80 people.
Who are the Branch Davidians?
Charismatic David Koresh, born Vernon Wayne Howell to his 14-year-old mum in Houston, Texas, joined the Branch Davidians at Mount Carmel, 10 miles east of Waco, in 1981.
The shaggy-haired young Koresh moved to the remote religious compound, a splinter group of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, after trying – and failing – to become a rock star in Hollywood.
He had extensive knowledge of the Bible, which he had memorised large sections of, and became leader of the group in 1987 after being rejected by the Adventist Church in Texas.
Koresh, who regarded himself as an angel and God's agent, collected followers from around the world, including Britain.
And despite annulling followers’ marriages, he said that God had ordered him to have as many wives as he wanted and that he could have sex with whomever he wished to.
What happened at Mount Carmel in Waco, Texas, in 1993?
On February 28, 1993, agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) tried to carry out a “dynamic entry” into the community, after obtaining search and arrest warrants for Koresh.
They suspected the cult leader was in possession of illegal firearms and explosives and asked for help from the FBI.
It was estimated that more than 100 men, women and children, with nearly 250 weapons, were inside the compound.
Mount Carmel was stocked with a year’s supply of food rations.
This raid descended into a gun battle, which resulted in four ATF agents being killed, 20 agents being wounded and an unknown number of Davidians killed and injured.
Koresh was among those wounded, but he and the majority of his followers refused to leave the compound.
On March 1, 1993, FBI agents took control of the 77-acre complex, and a 51-day siege followed the initial bungled operation.
FBI negotiators tried to reach a peaceful outcome with the sect’s leader and managed to have 21 of 46 children, along with two elderly residents, released.
Koresh had promised that if a recorded message from him was played on a certain radio station, children would be released two-by-two.
By the evening of March 2, Davidians told negotiators that “God had told Koresh to wait” rather than leave.
He ended up using the children as a shield against the FBI, and threatened to fire on their positions and to blow up government vehicles.
Koresh claimed to be Christ, and to have knowledge of the seven seals of the apocalypse.
He was depicted in the media as having total control over his followers.
The compound itself was surrounded by tanks, armoured vehicles and more than 600 agents.
The FBI cut off the power, blasted high-decibel sounds to stop Davidians from sleeping, and shone bright spotlights on the premises.
On April 19, with Koresh still refusing to surrender, the siege ended after FBI agents carried out a tank and tear gas assault to force the Branch Davidians to leave the compound.
After this attack continued for a few hours, at midday, several fires began in the compound.
Reports differ on the exact number of people who died in the blaze, but about 80 Davidians, including 20 children, perished. Twenty-four of the victims were British. Only nine Davidians escaped the fire.
“It is not certain, however, whether a substantial number of the persons who died in the compound remained inside voluntarily, were being held in the compound against their will or were shot in order to prevent their escape from the fire.
“The medical examiner found the remains of 75 individuals in the debris. Thirteen adult bodies had fatal gunshot wounds to the chest and face. Two adults were fatally shot in the back.
“Three young children were shot to death and one three-year-old boy was fatally stabbed in the chest. Two other minors suffered fatal blows to the head.
“Koresh died of a gunshot to the mid-forehead.”
To this day, the way in which the law enforcement was carried out has remained controversial, with some condemning the FBI’s actions as attacking a group’s right to religious expression.