The Branch Davidian’s 51-day standoff with the FBI and the ATF ended as the cult’s compound burned.A barrage of bullets flooded the air as law enforcement battled a group of armed civilians in a deadly and controversial engagement that left nearly 100 people dead.
By 1984, Koresh, whose real name was Vernon Wayne Howell, had taken control of a splintered sect of the Branch Davidians.The federal government believed the group was stockpiling illegal weapons inside the compound and modifying them to have illegal automatic firing capability. They also became increasingly worried about allegations of sexual abuse and misconduct by Koresh.
The ATF became aware of the Branch Davidians after a UPS driver who was delivering a package to a gun store owned and operated by the Branch Davidians in 1992 discovered that the package contained at least a half-dozen grenades. The worker said UPS had delivered several suspicious packages to the store, according to the documentary “Inside Waco.”But as ATF agents attempted to serve the warrants on Feb. 28, chaos ensued and a major gun battle broke out.