The Peoples Temple Agricultural Project , better known by its informal name `` Jonestown '' , was a remote settlement established by the Peoples Temple , a cult under the leadership of Jim Jones , in northwestern Guyana .

In total , 909 individuals died Death in Jonestown , all but two from apparent cyanide poisoning , in an event termed `` revolutionary suicide '' by Jones and some Peoples Temple members on an audio tape of the event , and in prior recorded discussions .

The poisonings in Jonestown followed Action the murder of five others by Temple members at Port Kaituma , including United States Congressman Leo Ryan , an act that Jones ordered .

Terms used to describe the deaths in Jonestown and Georgetown evolved Change over time .

Seventy or more individuals at Jonestown were injected with poison , and a third of the victims ( 304 ) were minors .

Guards armed with guns and crossbows had been ordered Request to shoot those who fled the Jonestown pavilion as Jones lobbied for suicide .

Jonestown resulted in Causation the largest single loss of American civilian life in a deliberate act until September 11 , 2001 .