Natten mellom 3. og 4. juni rykket soldater inn på Tiananmen-plassen og startet nedslaktningen av studenter og arbeidere. Det samme skjedde i sidegatene. Hensikten var ikke bare å fordrive demonstrantene, men knuste dem, med vold. Anslagene over antall drepte varierer fra 800 til 5.000.

Statistics and estimates generated from different groups of sources would indicate:

* 4,000 to 6,000 civilians killed – Edward Timperlake.[17]
* 2,600 had officially died by the morning of June 4 (later denied) – the Chinese Red Cross.[12] An unnamed Chinese Red Cross official estimated that, in total, 5,000 people were killed and 30,000 injured.[18]
* 1,000 deaths – Amnesty International[12]
* 7,000 deaths (6,000 civilians and 1,000 soldiers) – NATO intelligence.[17]
* 10,000 deaths in total – Soviet Bloc estimates.[17]
* in excess of 3,700 killed, excluding disappearance or secret deaths and those denied of medical treatment – PLA defector citing a document circulating among officers.[17]
* 186 named individuals confirmed dead as at the end of June 2006 – Professor Ding Zilin.[19]

According to the Chinese government, the «official figure is 241 dead, including soldiers, and 7,000 wounded»[20]

De kinesiske lederne fryktet studentenes eksempel. De fryktet at deres ideer, representert ved demokrati-gudiinnen, kunne spre seg. Derfor måtte det statueres et blodig eksempel.

Tiananmen Square protests of 1989