Thirty years ago, US law enforcement executed a warrant on a large compound in Texas that belonged to religious leader David Koresh and the doomsday cult the Branch Davidians. What followed was the biggest gunfight on American soil since the Civil War that ended with a fiery inferno captured live on national television.
On February 28, 1993, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) tried to execute a search warrant at the compound known as Mount Carmel near Waco, but the Davidians had been tipped off. A firefight ensued that saw people on both sides killed and injured.
Authorities began to assemble a small army outside the compound, which included several tanks, helicopters, and hundreds of agents. After a ceasefire was negotiated, the Davidians and law enforcement – including FBI, US Customs and Texas Rangers – endured a 51-day stand-off, which ended with a deadly shoot-out and a raging inferno that tore through the compound and killed many Davidians that remained inside.
