On 22 December 1989, Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife Elena fled from Bucharest by helicopter. The demonstrators took control over the Central Committee building, removed Romanian Communist Party flags and announced the victory of the revolution.
During the night various uncoordinated armed groups fought each other all over the country, with people being killed in the exchange of fire. The shootings and acts of terror diminished in intensity only after the Ceauşescu's execution on 25 December.
1104 people died as a result, the overwhelming majority of which (942) were killed after the dictator's escape on 22 December. The Romanian Revolution remains the bloodiest of the 1989 democratic revolts.