| |
N0KFQ > TODAY 19.04.13 18:13l 68 Lines 3422 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 38842_KB0WSA
Read: GUEST
Subj: Today in History - Apr 19
Path: IZ3LSV<F1OYP<N9PMO<KC5CNT<N0KFQ<KB0WSA
Sent: 130419/1455Z 38842@KB0WSA.MO.USA.NA BPQK1.4.54
...
Apr 19, 1993:
Branch Davidian compound burns
At Mount Carmel in Waco, Texas, the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI) launches a tear-gas assault on the Branch
Davidian compound, ending a tense 51-day standoff between the
federal government and an armed religious cult. By the end of the
day, the compound was burned to the ground, and some 80 Branch
Davidians, including 22 children, had perished in the inferno.
On February 28, 1993, agents of the U.S. Treasury Department's
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) launched a raid
against the Branch Davidian compound as part of an investigation
into illegal possession of firearms and explosives by the
Christian cult. As the agents attempted to penetrate the complex,
gunfire erupted, beginning an extended gun battle that left four
ATF agents dead and 15 wounded. Six Branch Davidians were fatally
wounded, and several more were injured, including David Koresh,
the cult's founder and leader. After 45 minutes of shooting, the
ATF agents withdrew, and a cease-fire was negotiated over the
telephone. The operation, which involved more than 100 ATF
agents, was one of the largest ever mounted by the bureau and
resulted in the highest casualties of any ATF operation.
Following the unsuccessful ATF raid, the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI) took over the situation. A standoff with the
Branch Davidians stretched into seven weeks, and little progress
was made in the telephone negotiations, as the Davidians had
stockpiled years of food and other necessities before the raid.
On April 18, U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno approved a tear-gas
assault on the compound, and at approximately 6:00 a.m. on April
19 the Branch Davidians were informed of the imminent attack and
asked to surrender, which they refused to do. A few minutes
later, two FBI armoured combat vehicles began inserting gas into
the building and were joined by Bradley tanks, which fired
incendiary tear-gas canisters through the compound's windows. The
Branch Davidians, many with gas masks on, refused to evacuate,
and by 11:40 a.m. the last of some 100 tear-gas canisters was
fired into the compound. Just after noon, a fire erupted at one
or more locations on the compound, and minutes later nine
Davidians fled the rapidly spreading blaze. Gunfire was reported
but ceased as the compound was completely engulfed by the flames.
Koresh and at least 80 of his followers, including 22 children,
died during the federal government's second disastrous assault on
Mount Carmel. The FBI and the Justice Department maintained there
was conclusive evidence that the Branch Davidian members ignited
the fire, citing an eyewitness account and various forensic data.
Of the gunfire reported during the fire, the government argued
that the Davidians were either killing each other as part of a
suicide pact or were killing dissenters who attempted to escape
the Koresh-ordered suicide by fire. Most of the surviving Branch
Davidians contested this official position, as do some critics in
the press and elsewhere, whose charges against the ATF and FBI's
handling of the Waco standoff ranged from incompetence to
premeditated murder. In 1999, the FBI admitted they used tear-gas
grenades in the assault, which have been known to cause fires
because of their incendiary properties.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ KB0WSA.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: kohiggs@hotmail.com
Using Outpost Version 2.6.0 c29
Read previous mail | Read next mail
| |
