The Nightmare of Idaho's Ruby Ridge
As a new inquiry begins, questions linger
But the reverberations from Ruby Ridge won't quiet down. A county prosecutor in Idaho is still considering unspecified charges. And this week, Senator Specter intends to raise the noise level yet again.
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DAY 1: Aug. 21, 1992 The shootings took place near the Weaver cabin on Ruby Ridge over the course of two days. On the first day, U.S. marshals conducted a reconnaissance mission for a planned undercover operation to arrest Randy Weaver. A marshal and Weaver's son died.
1 The marshals retreat. 10 a.m.: U.S. Marshals Art Roderick, Larry Cooper and William Degan retreat from the springhouse area when Randy Weaver, his 14-year-old son, Sammy, and friend Kevin Harris approach with their dog, Striker.
2 Gunfight at the "Y". 10:30 a.m.: The marshals exchange gunfire with Sammy and Harris. The sequence of shots is unclear. Roderick shoots and kills the Weaver dog. Degan is shot in the chest and dies. Sammy Weaver is killed by a shot to the back. Harris and Randy Weaver retreat to the house and later recover Sammy's body.
DAY 2: Aug. 22, 1992 The FBI's Hostage Rescue Team was dispatched to the scene, instructed that they "can and should" use deadly force against any armed adult male. Weaver's wife, Vicki, was killed.
3 The sniper's shots. 5:58 p.m.: From the hill above the cabin, FBI sniper Lon Horiuchi fires the shots that kill Vicki Weaver and wound Randy Weaver and Kevin Harris.
USN&WR--Basic data: Justice Dept. Task Froce, FBI, attorneys for Randy Weaver
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