When, late on the night of January 12th, crowds of Lithuanian people sur¬rounded the TV tower, and with their own bodies, blocked the roads leading to it, we were expecting everything except that which actually happened in the middle of the night. Though there was anxiety in the air concerning the inten¬tions of the occupants, the people did not give way to despair: they sang, prayed, some ate snacks... Hearing the roar of Soviet tanks, we hurried to the viaduct on which people were blocking the way for tanks and armored vehicles. They took turns firing over the people's heads, and gun shots were heard from a military vehicle that was parked on Žvaigždžių Street...
People were crouching down to avoid the shots, but they didn't withdraw. Tank shots were heard from the other side of the tower, so we ran there and saw an approaching tank by the tower. Over the loudspeaker people were urged to disperse, and there were threats if they failed to do so...
Soon after the speech, the paratroopers who had been firing at the walls and windows of the tower began to shoot at unarmed people. Although the darkness was only broken from time to time by the tank searchlights we could see clearly how people were carrying mutilated corpses on stretchers, covered with white sheets. One man was bare-foot, another was half-naked and injured by bullets, and a third was wounded badly. We had already brought the fourth victim to the ambulance...
And the “courageous" brutes continued to shoot. People fell and got back up, they were groaning and praying, but they did not withdraw...
After nearly 3 hours of letting out their rage on unarmed people, the tanks finally stopped, leaving only pools of blood on the ground and the groaning of the wounded.
Lithuania, 1991.01.13 : documents, testimonies, comments. - Vilnius : State Publishing Center, 1992, p. 142.