The Waco siege was a 51-day standoff between federal law enforcement and the Branch Davidians, a religious community led by Vernon Howell, known as David Koresh. It began on February 28, 1993, when the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) tried to execute arrest and search warrants at the Mount Carmel compound near Waco, Texas. The siege ended on April 19 in a fire that consumed the compound. The often-repeated claim that the fire killed 76 people is not supported by the official count described in the Justice Department’s aftermath report: it recorded 84 people at the compound when the fire began, nine survivors, and 75 bodies recovered by May 3.
What started the Waco standoff?
On February 28, 1993, ATF agents went to the Branch Davidian compound to execute an arrest warrant for Howell and a search warrant for Mount Carmel. Gunfire broke out. The Justice Department’s executive summary says four ATF agents were killed and 16 wounded. It also says the number of people inside who were killed by ATF gunfire cannot be determined precisely.
On March 1, Treasury officials decided to transfer operational control of the confrontation to the FBI. The siege then continued for 51 days, with federal authorities negotiating with people inside the compound. Between February 28 and March 23, 35 Branch Davidians left: 14 adults and 21 children, according to the Justice Department summary.
What happened on April 19?
On April 19, the FBI began an operation to introduce tear gas into the compound. A fire broke out and consumed the buildings. The Justice Department’s 1993 evaluation, written by Edward S. G. Dennis Jr., concluded that people inside deliberately set the fire and that the FBI’s tear-gas insertion did not start it. Dennis wrote: “The fire on April 19, 1993 was deliberately set by persons inside the compound and was not started by the FBI’s tear gas insertion operations.” That is the evaluation’s conclusion, not a finding that resolves every question about what happened inside.
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Did the fire kill 76 people?
The phrase “the fire killed 76” conflates different counts and is not what the Justice Department’s aftermath report establishes. Its accounting says 84 people remained at Mount Carmel when the fire began, nine survived, and Texas Rangers had recovered 75 bodies from the scene by May 3, 1993. The same report separately records five bodies of Branch Davidians killed on or about February 28. Those figures describe distinct events and accounting categories; the 75 recovered bodies should not be presented as 76 people killed by the fire.
The record also leaves uncertainty about some deaths. Dennis’s evaluation reported that some people died of gunshot wounds, but said the evidence did not establish whether all those deaths were suicides or whether others killed some of the victims. The available official accounting therefore supports care with both the headline number and any claim about how each person died.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How the official reviews differ
The Justice Department’s October 1993 evaluation examined the conduct of the Justice Department and FBI. It expressly did not evaluate ATF’s conduct leading up to the February 28 gun battle. ATF’s later institutional history, in turn, describes separate Treasury and Justice investigations of law-enforcement tactics and acknowledges criticism that some ATF actions, decisions, and tactics were poorly executed. These accounts address different agencies and questions; neither should be treated as a single, all-purpose verdict on the entire siege.
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- Category: Narrative
- Author: David Thibodeau
- Co-author: Leon Whiteson
- Epilogue updated with Aviva Layton's insights
- Survived the 1993 Waco tragedy
Waco siege timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| February 28, 1993 | ATF attempts to execute arrest and search warrants at Mount Carmel. Four ATF agents are killed and 16 wounded, according to the Justice Department’s executive summary. |
| March 1, 1993 | Treasury officials decide to transfer operational control to the FBI. |
| February 28–March 23, 1993 | Thirty-five Branch Davidians leave the compound: 14 adults and 21 children, according to the Justice Department summary. |
| April 19, 1993 | The standoff ends in a fire at Mount Carmel. Nine people survive the fire, according to the Justice Department summary. |
| May 3, 1993 | Texas Rangers have recovered 75 bodies from the scene, according to the Justice Department aftermath report. |
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