On 24 October 2021 , Saint Aregawi’s Day, Fano started to gather people from May Gaba, Delesa Qoqah and surrounding villages, telling them they had been called to a meeting and loading them into cars. Among the victims arrested on that day was a well-known physician from May Gaba, together with his wife who first tried to hide him, his child, his housemaid and her child. All in all, 86 people, including five women, were gathered by Fano and the ASF and taken to detention facilities. One of the buildings where the men were taken was the Enda Teklay, May Gaba’s largest hotel. Enda Teklay was turned into a jail soon after Amhara forces entered the town in November 2020. Others were imprisoned in a warehouse. From their custody, the men were loaded on to Eritrean pick-up trucks in three rounds, starting at around 3:30 p.m. The people were handcuffed using the "yiftign method", high up the arms. The people who had been arrested were taken to a cave outside May Gaba. The soldiers made the people sit in rows and executed them. Some managed to escape, but 82 were killed. The survivors warned others in the surrounding villagers. Thousands took the opportunity to flee. Some were killed by Fano on the roads, others drowned trying to cross the Tekezé and some died falling off cliffs as they escaped.