Waco Unraveling No. 7
Who fired the last shot?
Gary Hunt,
Outpost of Freedom
October 13, 1999
After nearly two years of exposure in "Waco – The Rules of Engagement", the mainstream press has finally acknowledged that the government forces were firing into Mt. Carmel Church on April 19, 1993. This, after six years of absolute denial by the FBI that they fired ANY shots during their tenure at Waco. Certain experts who had viewed even better copies of the infrared footage shown in "Rules" had denied that the ‘flashes’ were gunfire. Apparently, these government paid specialists found new eyes with which to view the evidence. Now, they certify that not only was the FBI shooting into the Church, but, that the Davidians were shooting out of the Church. Not that we have any more than the words of these ‘experts’, since the clear copies of the footage are still held closely in the government evidence rooms. Regardless, the news has become a bit more noteworthy – and has come back into the realm of the public’s attention.
So, who did fire at whom on April 19? Perhaps it is best to set the stage with what was known, by some, over six years ago.
I had returned to Waco in May 1993. While there, I was able to talk to many of my recently found friends, the Davidians, and follow up on questions which had been lingering for over a month. Though only nine people had escaped the fatal fire, there were a number of Davidians who had either not been in Mt. Carmel Church on February 28, or had left in the first few weeks of March. It was through these friends that an interview was arranged with one of those who had not been charged, but had managed to escape the fire. It was this Church member that, when asked about what had occurred on the 19th, explained, through personal knowledge, that women and children had been shot as they left through the kitchen door into the area behind the Church – well out of camera view. This revelation was followed by a stern admonition that he would never admit that he had told me about the shooting.
Having discussed this subject many times over the intervening years, the issue of why he would not speak of the matter leads to two possible explanations. First, this person was not charged with a crime, as nearly every other ‘escapee’ had been. He was out of the country, and desirous of maintaining the relative safety of his position and situation. Second, being that he realized, should he publicly make this assertion, it would be his word against the government. After what he had been through, the demonization of the Davidians and the falsehoods spread daily through the FBI press conferences, he realized that only harm and ridicule would result from public exposure of this event.
For years, then, as I spoke around the country – when this subject arose, I could only say that I had been told, and that I believed what I had been told.
Now, perhaps, the proof of this incident is destined for public exposure – in its entirety. However, as we have seen, once a small bit of truth comes to light, both government and mainstream press collude to ‘spin’ the truth into an acceptable plausibility. The revelation that the Davidians fired from the Church was timed to minimize the impact of the concession, and the fact that the FBI HAS lied to courts, Congressional hearings and the public for these past six years – much of this lying done under oath.
Now, I cannot be certain that the Davidians fired any shots from inside the Church. I can say, however, that I would not be surprised if they did. In fact, I think that I would have been disappointed had they not.
Let’s look at the events:
Early on the morning of April 19, 1993, the Davidians who were still sleeping were awakened to a bullhorn blaring, "OK, we’re in the process of putting tear gas into the building. This is not an assault. We are not entering the building. Not an assault." Just seconds later, the Davidians find NOT the FBI, but M-1 Abrams tanks entering their building. No, this was not an assault, and the FBI is the most honest agency within the federal bureaucracy!Within minutes, CS gas, a mild nerve agent, potentially fatal, begins being injected into the Church. Mothers, knowing that they have no way to protect their young children from the gas, soak towels, attempting to filter as much of the intensely irritating gas from their children’s nostrils. This does not mitigate the burning resulting from exposure to the skin – especially around mucous membranes.
As time goes on, more and more physical damage is exacted upon the building. Slowly, the damage begins to manifest itself into prohibitions against both movement and escape. The front door has been collapsed, surrounded by debris, resulting in such blockage as to prevent exit through the normal means.
The downstairs hallway, with doors to rooms in both the front and rear of the building, are damaged to such a degree that almost all of the doors are jammed shut. Escape through any of the first floor front windows is now denied.
The gassing becomes even more intense. Little do the Davidians realize that the FBI has used the entire stock of CS gas canisters intended to be spread over forty-eight hours, in these few hours this eventful day. All that they can be sure of is that they would do almost anything to be able to extract their children from this ordeal. Faith waning, they begin to move toward one of the only remaining exits from the building. The kitchen door has yet to be damaged. Refuge, they are sure, lies just beyond. Arrest and separation from their children now pale in comparison to the tribulation that they have found themselves in.
Children in hand, or tow, they begin an exodus toward the only escape from this chaos. A few lead the way. They exit the doorway, and, within seconds, are shot and injured or killed, children, as well. The others turn and flee back into the refuge that was, just moments before, a sort of Hell on Earth. The only remaining safety lies within, they pray, the cooler (bunker). With wet blankets and towels, they, again, seek refuge, huddling together in hopes that this ordeal will soon be over.
Meanwhile, some of the men have become aware of the murder of women and children as they attempted to flee to safety. The others, due to the commotion, have no idea what had just occurred. Those who are able grab rifles and congregate wherever they can position themselves to attempt to return fire and secure an exit from the slowly collapsing building that they had so recently called home. Regardless of the risk, they have begun to realize the futility of their stand, and, now, seek only to attain safety for themselves, the women and children. The second gun-battle of the Fifty-one day assault has now begun.
Unfortunately, battling against a well-trained and equipped enemy, they fail to secure an escape route. Within an hour, all efforts to escape have been extinguished. Three fires begin, all at locations more accessible to those outside than to those within the damaged walls of the Church. With but a single exception, all of those who escape the catastrophe, escape through the front of the Church. Exiting through damaged walls, out second floor windows, through the walls of fire that have begun to envelop them. The appearance that the government’s intentions were to contain everyone inside of the Church, destroying them along with the evidence of the crimes of both the FBI and the BATF, are all that remain. The near perfect murder has now been completed.
Faith, however, and the persistence of a number of worthy investigators, have come to fruition. The exposure of the evils and crimes of hundreds of federal government ‘servants’ is beginning to come to light. Regardless of the spin being put on these truths by the government and the press, the public is now becoming aware of the criminality of their government. Now, all that remains is to bring justice to the matter.
