On April 19, 1993, the 51-day siege at the Branch Davidian Compound in Waco, Texas, reached a fiery end. The complex burned to the ground after a standoff

With law-enforcement officials, FBI agents had begun pumping tear gas into the structure to force a surrender when the building caught fire. The government argues the cult members set the fire as a form of mass suicide, but Davidian survivors say the FBI agents were to blame for the blaze. Nine members of the cult escaped the fire. Eighty-six members, including leader David Koresh, perished.

The standoff began on February 28, 1993 after a deadly gun battle ensued when federal agents (from the bureau of alcohol, tobacco and firearms) Attempted to arrest Koresh for illegal weapons possession. Four agents and six cult members were killed during the shootout as cult members fired from inside the building.

The Branch Davidians were a Christian group who had broken off from the original Davidians, once affiliated with the Seventh Day Adventist Church. Leader David Koresh preached the apocalypse would occur soon. He claimed to have more than 100 followers living in the compound, including his many wives and children.

18 Branch Davidians were tried on murder and conspiracy charges for the February 28th shoot out. Eleven were acquitted and seven were found guilty of lesser charges.