Wounded ATF Agent Points to Davidian as Gunman

A federal agent showed jurors his bloodied vest Wednesday, described his bullet wounds and pointed out the Branch Davidian he said shot him.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that man shot me,” agent Eric Evers said as he gestured toward defendant Livingston Fagan, who sat expressionless in court.

Evers was the second Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agent to testify in the trial of 11 Branch Davidians charged with murder and murder conspiracy in the killing of four agents and the wounding of 16 others.

Six Branch Davidians also are believed to have died in the 45-minute gunfight that followed a Feb. 28 raid in which the agents sought to arrest Davidian doomsday prophet David Koresh. The raid triggered a 51-day standoff that ended April 19 when Koresh and about 80 followers died amid a huge fire that authorities say the Davidians started.

Evers, who underwent hours of cross-examination, never wavered from his statement that Fagan, flanked by two men with handguns, shot him with either an AR-15 or M-16 assault-style rifle.

The agent showed the bloodied vest he was wearing, told of being wounded in the chest and forearms, and talked of how he dove for cover in a ditch as bullets flew.

“Something told me deep down inside, ‘You’ve got to get up. You’ve got to get up. These people aren’t playing games. They’re going to shoot you in the head,’ ” he said.

“It was terrifying. . . . As time went on I got very lightheaded. I didn’t realize I was bleeding as badly as I was,” he added.

Defense attorneys claim the Davidians acted in self-defense, and at issue is which side fired first. Fagan’s attorney, Rocket Rosen, opened his cross-examination by asking: “Who were the bad guys?”

“The people who were shooting at me,” Evers replied.

Rosen accused Evers of identifying Fagan because the agent’s assailant was black and Fagan was the only African American in the compound to survive after the raid. He left the compound nearly a month before the fire and was arrested.

“I know that man over there shot me,” said Evers, repeating his unwavering refrain. “Everything is etched in my mind until the day I die because of that incident.”