Branch Davidians
The New Mount Carmel Center was a large compound used by the Branch Davidians religious group in the Axtell area outside Waco, Texas, United States. The Branch Davidians were a breakaway sect from Sheperd's Rod, established by Benjamin Roden in 1959 and then led by David Koresh starting in the 1980s. Named after the Biblical mountain Mount Carmel in northern Israel, it was the site of the 51-day Waco siege. The siege began on February 28, 1993, when federal agents attempted to execute a warrant and arrest some Davidians living inside. A subsequent firefight left four ATF agents and six Davidians dead. At the end of the siege, on April 19, 1993, a fire burned through most of the compound, killing 76 Branch Davidians.