The subcommittee heard testimony from Mr. Higgins and other representatives of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms on the bureau’s actions regarding recent events near Waco, Texas. The bureau was one of the agencies involved in the siege of an armed religious cult suspected of hoarding illegal weapons and sexual abuse of children. On February 28, 1993, ATF agents swarmed the cult’s compound, only to lose four agents in a hail of returned gunfire from the cult. The cult remained locked in its compound under siege from government agents until April 19th, when a fire allegedly set by the cult burned the compound to the ground, killing approximately 80 members.