Waco: Apocalypse in Texas -On April 19, 1993, a fire broke out at Mt. Carmel in Waco, Texas, killing 76 people. This was at the end of a 51 day standoff between the Branch Davidians and the ATF. -The Branch Davidians were a religious cult formed in 1955 by Victor Houteff. Following Houteff’s death, his wife, Florence took over. In 1957, She sold the original property and moved the organization to Elk, Texas. After Florence failed to correctly predict Apocalyptic events in 1959, she sold the property to George Rhoden. In 1981, a young David Koresh, then known as Vernon Howell, visited Mount Carmel and began studying bible prophecy under Lois Roden. -The Waco siege began on February 28th, 1993, when the ATF acted on a search warrant for suspected illegal weapons. Gunfire erupted between Davidians and ATF members, killing four government agents and six Davidians. On April 19, 1993, a fire broke out at Mount Carmel, and the cause of the fire is still heavily debated. This fire would end up killing 76 Branch Davidians, as well as David Koresh.
