WACO, Texas — In the thirty years following the deadly Branch Davidian Siege, one Lamar University professor is sharing the stories of those who survived.
Dr. Stuart Wright said he was there from Feb. 28, 1993 to April 19, 1993 as the deadly standoff between the FBI, ATF agents and the Branch Davidians happened at Mount Carmel, near Waco.
He said he gathered testimony from those who left the religious group after the deadly siege, as well as its survivors.
"These people died in a raging fire," he said. "The coroner said the temperature inside that Mount Carmel was probably 800 degrees."
It's this knowledge that upsets him to this day, he said.
In the days, months and years following, Wright would keep in contact with survivors. It's their testimonies that are the most heart wrenching for him, he said.
"The great tragedy was the death of those 76 people," he added.
He told 6 News he spoke to women who made it out of the burning building as it was crumbling to the ground. He said two of the women who testified at the civil trial that followed had their fingers burnt off.
From the information and testimonies he could gather, this incident had a lot to do with the misconduct of law enforcement, he claimed. He said the FBI didn't follow protocol at the time.
"Sixteen violations to me suggests to me, it was intentional," he said. "It was by design, so that qualifies to me as a government massacre."
"It's a serious blemish on federal law enforcement that I think they still have to carry to this day," Wright added.
Though the actions of law enforcement agents during the siege was criticized, many federal agents blame the siege on the Branch Davidians and their leader at the time, David Koresh.