Documents violence · sexual violence · crimes against children · suicide — written to inform, not to shock.
Illustrative
The Branch Davidians were a religious group headquartered at Mount Carmel Center, a compound in unincorporated McLennan County, Texas, about 13 miles northeast of Waco. The group traced its origins to a 1955 schism within the Shepherd's Rod (Davidians) movement. By the late 1980s, leadership had passed to Vernon Wayne Howell, who legally changed his name to David Koresh in 1990.
In 1992, local authorities received reports raising concern about weapons at the compound, including a UPS driver's report of grenades found in a damaged package and a farmer's report of suspected automatic-weapons fire. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) opened a formal investigation on June 9, 1992. An affidavit filed by ATF Special Agent David Aguilera on February 25, 1993, became the basis for search and arrest warrants against Koresh and other group members on federal weapons charges. On February 27, 1993, the Waco Tribune-Herald began publishing "The Sinful Messiah," a series alleging Koresh had physically and sexually abused children in the compound and taken multiple underage brides.
The ATF attempted to execute the warrants on February 28, 1993. A reporter tipped off about the raid inadvertently alerted a mail carrier who was Koresh's brother-in-law, tipping off the Branch Davidians before agents arrived. A gunfight broke out that killed four ATF agents — Steve Willis, Robert Williams, Todd McKeehan, and Conway Charles LeBleu — and five Branch Davidians: Winston Blake, Peter Gent, Peter Hipsman, Perry Jones, and Jaydean Wendell. Koresh was shot in the hand and stomach. About six hours after a ceasefire was negotiated, ATF agents shot and killed Michael Schroeder, a Branch Davidian who allegedly fired on agents as he tried to re-enter the compound.
The FBI took command of the standoff, led on-site by Jeff Jamar with the Hostage Rescue Team under Commander Richard Rogers. Over the next 51 days, negotiators kept telephone contact with those inside; 19 children were released without their parents early on, though 98 people remained in the compound. Negotiations stalled as Koresh repeatedly delayed, citing religious writings he said he needed to finish, and the FBI applied increasingly aggressive pressure, including sleep-disrupting broadcasts and armored vehicles that breached perimeter fencing. Koresh at one point ordered a group of followers to leave; eleven departed and were arrested as material witnesses, one of them on a charge of conspiracy to murder.
Attorney General Janet Reno approved an FBI plan to pump CS gas into the buildings, citing deteriorating conditions and reports of child abuse inside the compound. On April 19, 1993, the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team used armored vehicles to breach the buildings' walls and insert the gas. By around noon, fires broke out simultaneously in multiple parts of the building and spread quickly. Nine people escaped; 76 Branch Davidians died, including 20 to 28 children and Koresh, who according to the FBI was shot by an aide before the aide killed himself. Autopsies found that at least 20 of the dead, including Koresh, had been shot.
The origin of the fire remains disputed. Department of Justice reports from October 1993 and July 2000 concluded the Branch Davidians started the fire, citing surveillance audio of discussions about spreading fuel on hay and aerial footage showing multiple simultaneous ignition points. The FBI has stated none of its agents fired live rounds that day; critics dispute this and suggest gunfire combined with flammable CS gas may have caused or contributed to the blaze. An independent university investigation concluded occupants had sufficient time to escape the fire had they chosen to.
Jaydean Wendell, Conway Charles LeBleu, Michael Schroeder, Steve Willis, Perry Jones, Peter Hipsman, Winston Blake, Robert Williams, Todd McKeehan, Peter Gent
Date
1993
Location
Mount Carmel Center, McLennan County, Texas
Case status
unsolved
Case timeline
1955
The Branch Davidians formed from a schism within the Shepherd's Rod (Davidians) after the death of founder Victor Houteff.
1990-08-28
Vernon Wayne Howell's petition to legally change his name to David Koresh, filed that May in a California court, was granted.
1992-05
McLennan County's Sheriff's Department was notified of a UPS driver's report that a damaged package addressed to the Branch Davidians contained grenades.
1992-06-09
The ATF opened a formal investigation into the Branch Davidians.
1992-11
A local farmer reported hearing what he believed was automatic-weapons and machine-gun fire from the compound.
1993-02-25
ATF Special Agent David Aguilera's affidavit was filed, forming the basis for search and arrest warrants against Koresh and other group members.
1993-02-27
The Waco Tribune-Herald began publishing "The Sinful Messiah," alleging Koresh had abused children in the compound.
1993-02-28
The ATF's raid on Mount Carmel Center led to a gunfight that killed four ATF agents and five Branch Davidians; the FBI began a siege that lasted 51 days.
1993-03-08
Branch Davidians sent the FBI a videotape intended to show there were no hostages inside the compound.
1993-04-14
Koresh sent his lawyer his last communication with the outside world, a letter about religious writings he said he needed to finish.
1993-04-19
The FBI's CS gas assault was followed by fires that engulfed Mount Carmel Center, killing 76 Branch Davidians including Koresh and 20 to 28 children.
1993-10
A US Department of Justice report concluded the Branch Davidians had started the fire.
2000-07
A second US Department of Justice report reaffirmed that the Branch Davidians had started the fire.
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People
Jaydean Wendell
VICTIM
Branch Davidian killed during the February 28, 1993 ATF raid on Mount Carmel Center.
citation on file
Conway Charles LeBleu
VICTIM
ATF special agent killed during the February 28, 1993 raid on Mount Carmel Center.
citation on file
David Aguilera
LAW ENFORCEMENT
ATF Special Agent whose affidavit, filed February 25, 1993, formed the basis for the search and arrest warrants executed in the raid.
citation on file
Michael Schroeder
VICTIM
Branch Davidian shot dead by ATF agents on February 28, 1993, roughly six hours after the raid's ceasefire, while allegedly attempting to re-enter the compound armed.
citation on file
Steve Willis
VICTIM
ATF special agent killed during the February 28, 1993 raid on Mount Carmel Center.
citation on file
Perry Jones
VICTIM
Branch Davidian killed during the February 28, 1993 ATF raid on Mount Carmel Center.
citation on file
David Koresh
CHARGED
Branch Davidians' leader, born Vernon Wayne Howell; named in the ATF's search and arrest warrants on federal weapons charges; died on April 19, 1993, during the final assault on the compound.
citation on file
Peter Hipsman
VICTIM
Branch Davidian killed during the February 28, 1993 ATF raid on Mount Carmel Center.
citation on file
Winston Blake
VICTIM
Branch Davidian killed during the February 28, 1993 ATF raid on Mount Carmel Center.
citation on file
Robert Williams
VICTIM
ATF special agent killed during the February 28, 1993 raid on Mount Carmel Center.
citation on file
Todd McKeehan
VICTIM
ATF special agent killed during the February 28, 1993 raid on Mount Carmel Center.
citation on file
Jeff Jamar
LAW ENFORCEMENT
FBI Site Commander, head of the Bureau's San Antonio field office; took charge of the siege after the February 28 raid.
citation on file
Peter Gent
VICTIM
Branch Davidian killed during the February 28, 1993 ATF raid on Mount Carmel Center.
citation on file
Janet Reno
LAW ENFORCEMENT
US Attorney General who approved the FBI's plan for the April 19, 1993 CS gas assault on the compound.
citation on file
Richard Rogers
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Commander of the FBI Hostage Rescue Team during the siege and the April 19 assault; previously criticized for his actions at the Ruby Ridge standoff.
A 51-day standoff between federal law enforcement and the Branch Davidians at Mount Carmel Center near Waco, Texas, that began with a fatal ATF raid on February 28, 1993, and ended in a fire that killed 76 people on April 19, 1993.
