The Waco siege, also known as the Waco massacre, was the law enforcement siege of the compound that belonged to the religious sect Branch Davidians. The incident began when the ATF attempted to serve a search and arrest warrant on the ranch. An intense gunfight erupted, resulting in the deaths of four government agents and six Branch Davidian members. Eventually, the FBI launched an assault and initiated a tear gas attack in an attempt to force the sect out. Shortly thereafter, the Mount Carmel Center quickly became engulfed in flames, killing 76 members of the sect.
About Waco siege in brief
The Waco siege, also known as the Waco massacre, was the law enforcement siege of the compound that belonged to the religious sect Branch Davidians. The incident began when the ATF attempted to serve a search and arrest warrant on the ranch. An intense gunfight erupted, resulting in the deaths of four government agents and six Branch Davidian members. Eventually, the FBI launched an assault and initiated a tear gas attack in an attempt to force the sect out. Shortly thereafter, the Mount Carmel Center quickly became engulfed in flames, killing 76 members of the sect. The events that took place 13 miles from Waco, have been cited by commentators as catalysts for the Oklahoma City bombing by Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols. In 2000, an internal Justice Department investigation concluded in 2000 that incendiary tear gas canisters were used by the FBI, but maintained that sect members had started the fire. This came after a panel of arson investigators concluded that the Davidians were responsible for igniting it simultaneously in at least three different areas of the Ranch. The group originated in 1955 from a schism in the Shepherd’s Rod following the death of the original Davidian Seventh-day Adventist organization’s founder Victor Houteff. In 1984, a meeting led to a division of the group, with Vernon Wayne Howell leading one faction and George Roden leading the competing faction. In November 1987, Howell and seven companions tried to get the body in the casket of one Davidian cemetery member to prove who was the rightful heir to the site.
Howell and his group relocated to Palestine, Texas. In January 1988, Howell attempted to gain control of Mount Carmal Center by digging up the cask of one Anna Hughes from the cemetery. The Sheriff’s Department responded about 20 minutes into the gunfight by opening fire on Howell, his companions, and his companions. Howell, dubbed the Eight, and seven armed companions were dubbed the ‘Roden Eight’ by the Sheriff’s department. The Eight were dubbed ‘The Eight’ after the sheriff’s department responded about 15 minutes after the gun battle. The siege lasted between February 28 and April 19, 1993, and claimed the lives of 4 ATF agents, 16 wounded, and 6 David Davidians, including 25 children, two pregnant women, and David Koresh himself. After the siege, the group moved again to a much larger site east of the city. A few years later, they moved to a site in Axtell, Texas, 13 miles east of Waco. In April 1994, the Davidian group moved back to the hilltop. In May 1994, they relocated to a larger site in the community of Axtell. In July 1995, the sect moved to the town of Palestine. In August 1995, they left Palestine for Waco and moved to Waco again. In September 1996, the church moved to another hilltop site in Waco after a division between the sect’s leaders led by Benjamin Roden and Vernon Howell led the faction.
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This page is based on the article Waco siege published in Wikipedia (as of Jan. 04, 2021) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
