Waco Siege - Final Assault

Final Assault

The FBI suggested that the Davidians might commit mass suicide, as had happened at Jonestown where 918 people killed themselves at their leader's behest, although Koresh had repeatedly denied any plans for this when confronted by negotiators during the standoff, and people escaping the compound had not seen any such preparation. Newly appointed U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno approved recommendations by the FBI to mount an assault after being told that conditions were deteriorating and that children were being abused inside the compound. (Over the next several months, Janet Reno's reason for approving the final gas attack varied from her initial claim that the FBI had told her that Koresh was sexually abusing children and beating babies to her claim that Linda Thompson and her one-woman "Unorganized Militia of the United States" was on their way to Waco to aid or attack Koresh.)

Reno made the FBI case to President Bill Clinton. Recalling the April 19, 1985 The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord (CSAL) siege in Arkansas which was ended without loss of life by a blockade without a deadline, President Clinton suggested similar tactics against the Davidians. Reno countered that the FBI was tired of waiting; that the standoff was costing a million dollars a week; that the Davidians could hold out longer than the CSAL; and that the chances of child sexual abuse and mass suicide were real because Koresh and his followers were crazy. "Finally, I told her that if she thought it was the right thing to do, she could go ahead."

Because the Davidians were heavily armed, the FBI's arms included .50 caliber (12.7 mm) rifles and armored CEVs. The assault took place on April 19, 1993. CEVs used booms to puncture holes in the walls of buildings of the compound so they could pump in CS gas ("tear gas") and try to flush out the Davidians without harming them. The stated plan called for increasing amounts of gas to be pumped in over two days to increase pressure. Officially, no armed assault was to be made, and loudspeakers were used to tell the Davidians that there would be no armed assault and to ask them not to fire on the vehicles. When several Davidians allegedly opened fire, the FBI's response was to increase the amount of gas being used.

FBI also delivered 40-millimetre (1.6 in) CS grenade fire from M79 grenade launchers; very early in the morning, the FBI fired two military M651 rounds at the Davidian construction site. About mid-morning the FBI began to run low on 40mm Ferret CS rounds and asked Texas Ranger Captain David Byrnes for tear gas rounds; the tear gas rounds procured from Company "F" in Waco turned out to be unusable pyrotechnic rounds and were returned to the Company "F" office after the fire. 40mm munitions recovered by the Texas Rangers at Waco included dozens of plastic Ferret Model SGA-400 Liquid CS rounds, two metal M651E1 military pyrotechnic tear gas rounds, two metal NICO Pyrotechnik Sound & Flash grenades and parachute illumination flares. After more than six hours no Davidians had left the building, sheltering instead in a cinder block room within the building or using gas masks. The FBI claimed that CEVs were used to punch large holes in the building to provide exits for those inside.

At around noon, three fires broke out almost simultaneously in different parts of the building. The government maintains the fires were deliberately started by Davidians. Davidian survivors maintain the fires were accidentally or deliberately started by the assault. As the fire spread, Davidians were prevented from escaping; others refused to leave and eventually became trapped. In all, only nine people left the building during the fire. The remaining Davidians, including the children, were either buried alive by rubble, suffocated by the effects of the fire or shot. Many who suffocated from the fire were killed by smoke or carbon monoxide inhalation and other causes as fire engulfed the building. Footage of the incident was being broadcast worldwide via television.

In all, 76 died and nine survived the fire on April 19 (on February 28 five had been killed in the initial ATF raid and buried on the grounds, one killed by ATF after the raid while returning to Mt. Carmel and 35 had left during the FBI standoff). Nothing remains of the buildings today other than cement foundation components, as the entire site was bulldozed by the ATF two weeks after the end of the siege. Only a small chapel, built years after the siege, stands on the site. Despite significant primary source video, much dispute remains as to the actual events of the siege.