The Waco siege began on Sunday, February 28, 1993, and ended violently 50 days later on April 19. The siege began when the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), accompanied by several members of the media, attempted to execute a search warrant at Mount Carmel Center ranch, a property of the religious group the Branch Davidians located in the community of Elk, Texas,[5][6] nine miles (14 kilometers) east-northeast of Waco.