The first three tanks were stopped by the crowd of people on the turn off of Cosmonaut Prospect to the side street next to the tower. The two that were farther away were spreading smoke from time to time, and the third one that was closest to the people was actively maneuvering - it drove back and forth and spun its barrel, smashed a nearby bus, knocked down a road sign, and fired shots.
Soon the people who were standing on the slope started shouting that tanks were already on the hill, right by the tower. I went up there. I climbed over the fence and saw that an astonishing amount of military vehicles had already surrounded the tower. I ran up between a few light tanks and ended up in the first of 6 or 8 rows of defenders.
Soldiers poured out of the vehicles. They lined up. One tank drove up 5 meters from the people and fired. After the shot you could hear the sound of breaking glass above and explosions (it seemed like some kind of electronic equipment), and water poured down on the people from the room directly over where the people were standing. That tank fired a few more times. Soldiers opened fire. But the people didn't disperse, they just joined hands, chanted “Lithuania!", and tried to strike up a song.
Paratroopers were forcing their way into the tower, shooting violently. There must have been victims there.
At least 10 minutes passed from the moment that the troopers broke in through the central entrance until the tri-colored Lithuanian flag was taken out of the third floor window. After that, the shooting in and around the tower continued for some 30 minutes.
Lithuania, 1991.01.13 : documents, testimonies, comments. - Vilnius : State Publishing Center, 1992, p. 225.