Later that same day , 909 inhabitants of Jonestown , 304 of them children , died of apparent cyanide poisoning , mostly in and around the settlement 's main pavilion . This resulted in the greatest single loss of American civilian life ( murder suicide , though not on American soil ) in a deliberate act until the September 11 attacks . The FBI later recovered a 45-minute audio recording of the suicide in progress
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
Jim Jones