![]() Agents, Ricks said now, hoped that “the motherly instinct would take place,” and children would be allowed to go free. The FBI had said previously that it was reluctant to use tear gas because of the risk to children. Inside, Ricks said, Davidian members had enough gas masks for adults. It filled the clear morning air with an eye-burning mist. Instead, the M60 shot round after round of tear gas into the compound. They fired an initial volley of 75 to 80 rounds. ![]() Some of the holes were large enough to be seen by the reporters, two miles away.ĭavid Koresh and his people replied. Unlikely as an anteater with a metal nose, the M60 began ripping holes into one of the buildings. They sent it straight toward the compound. Then the FBI outfitted the M60 with the Stars and Stripes. Ricks said that neither the Mark 5 system nor the tear gas could cause or contribute to a fire. On the vehicle, agents attached a system called a “Mark 5,” designed to fire eye-stinging gas. Ricks described it as an armored combat engineering vehicle. The FBI had rigged an M60 armored vehicle with a steel boom. “Take cover,” a state trooper warned the reporters, camped out about two miles away-as close as agents would let them get. Schneider hung up, according to FBI spokesman Bob Ricks. He was told to pass the word: Give up-or be tear-gassed. Steve Schneider, a member of the Branch Davidians, answered. Instead, only a few vehicles from the Texas Department of Public Safety had pulled up to a checkpoint on the perimeter.Īt 5:55 a.m., the FBI had telephoned the compound. There had been no shift change of state or federal agents surrounding the compound. Law enforcement officers already had made their final preparations. ![]() “My husband kept going out and sitting on the front porch.” Finally, he climbed onto the roof to get a better look. “You have to go through two other rooms to get to it. ![]() “It’s the safest place,” Hilda Cornelius said. He dressed, slipped into his boots and went to work.Īt their home near the Branch Davidian compound, Hilda and Richard Cornelius made plans to hide in their back bedroom if they needed to. “I need to let you know something is going on at the compound,” the dispatcher said. It was a dispatcher at his company, American Medical Transport. “That damn helicopter has been keeping me up all night,” Tusa’s father muttered. ![]()
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