After a 51-day siege that began when ATF agents' raid on the Branch Davidian compound sparked a deadly firefight, FBI armored vehicles breached the walls and injected tear gas on the morning of April 19. Fires erupted within hours and swept through the wooden structure, killing roughly 76 Branch Davidians, including leader David Koresh and more than 20 children. The disaster fueled deep distrust of federal law enforcement and became a rallying cry for anti-government militia movements.
The standoff outside Waco had begun on February 28 when agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms tried to serve a search warrant on the Mount Carmel compound of the Branch Davidians, a religious sect led by David Koresh who believed himself a final prophet. A gun battle killed four agents and six Davidians, and the FBI took over a siege that stretched 51 tense days, marked by negotiations, blaring loudspeakers, and Koresh's rambling audio messages.
On the morning of April 19, Attorney General Janet Reno authorized an assault after concluding negotiations had failed and citing (erroneously, it later emerged) concerns about ongoing child abuse inside. FBI tanks punched holes in the compound's walls and pumped in CS gas. Within hours, fires broke out in multiple locations — the FBI blamed Davidians for setting them deliberately, while survivors and later investigations suggested a more contested picture.
The wooden buildings burned rapidly. Roughly 76 people died, including Koresh and more than 20 children, many of whom perished from smoke inhalation or gunshot wounds later determined to be inflicted by Davidians themselves. The catastrophe, broadcast live on national television, became a defining grievance for the American militia movement — and exactly two years later, on April 19, 1995, it would inspire Timothy McVeigh's bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building.
Key people: David Koresh, Janet Reno