What did David Koresh do?
David Koresh was the leader of a religious cult known as the Branch Davidians who were based at the Mount Carmel Centre ranch in McLennan County, Texas, northeast of Waco. Authorities suspected the cult of stockpiling illegal weapons, so the ATF obtained a search warrant for the compound and had arrest warrants for Koresh and several of the other cult members.
The ATF planned a daylight raid of the ranch to serve the arrest warrants. However, a TV reporter was tipped off about the raid and asked for directions to the compound to cover the story. Unfortunately for the ATF, the person he asked just happened to be Koresh’s brother-in-law. He subsequently tipped off his brother and the cult members were fully armed and prepared. A gunfight erupted, which resulted in the deaths of 4 ATF agents and 6 cult members.
What happened to conclude the siege?
The ATF’s entering of the property and failure to execute the search warrant led to a siege which became known as the Waco siege. It was initiated by the FBI, and negotiations between the parties attempted to reach a compromise.
The siege lasted from the 28th of February until the 19th of April 1993. After 51 long days, the FBI launched a tear gas attack in an attempt to force the cult out of the compound.
The Mount Carmel Centre became engulfed in flames and the attack led to the deaths of 76 cult members, including 25 children.
Where is David Koresh now?
David Koresh was one of the people who died in the final attack. In total, the 51-day siege resulted in the deaths of 4 federal agents and 82 cult members.
The FBI claims the Branch Davidians started the fire. The FBI also contends that none of their agents fired any live rounds on the day of the fire. However, many believe they did fire live rounds and there is a suggestion that a combination of gunshots and flammable tear gas was the true cause of the fire.
Timothy McVeigh, who committed the Oklahoma bombing in 1995, cited the Waco massacre as the main reason for carrying out his attack on the 19th of April 1995, exactly 2 years after the Waco siege ended.
Netflix released a 3-part documentary series about the Waco massacre in 2023, titled Waco: American Apocalypse.
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