The scene is described in a gripping passage by Wamán Poma:

"They killed the Indians like ants. At the sound of the explosions and the jingle of bells on the horses' harness, the shock of arms and the whole amazing novelty of their attackers' appearance, the Indians were terror stricken. The pressure of their numbers caused the walls of the square to crumble and fall. Desperate to escape from being trampled under the hooves of the horses, in their headlong flight so many were crushed to death.

So many Indians were killed it was impracticable to count them. As for the Spaniards, only five of them lost their lives, and these few casualties were not caused by the Indians, who at no time dared to attack the formidable strangers. The Spaniards corpses were found intertwined with their Indian victims, and it was assumed they had been mistakenly trampled to death by their own cavalry.

Atahuallpa Inca was pulled down from his throne without injury and became the prisoner of Pizarro. He was put in chains and placed under guard by Spanish soldiers in a room close to Francisco Pizarro's lodgings. Deprived of his throne, and all his majesty, he was left sadly and disconsolately sitting on the ground in his prison."