At Omarunui, Whitmore sent a messenger into the unfortified pā to demand their surrender within an hour; when the deadline passed with no response Whitmore's force launched an attack on the village, with soldiers approaching it across a stream and up a high bank—an advance watched silently and without reaction from the occupants. Whitmore's force opened fire, quickly cutting down the occupants of the pā, whom it outnumbered almost four to one. In a firefight that lasted about an hour, Whitmore's force killed about 31 Ngāti Hineuru, wounded 28 (of whom many later died in hospital) and captured 44 others who attempted to flee, thus accounting for almost all the occupants. Among those killed was Panapa, the prophet. The dead were buried in a mass grave; a Ngāti Hineuru chieftainess was named Ruahuihui ("crowded in a pit") in memory of the event. Most of the prisoners were deported to the Chatham Islands, where they subsequently joined Te Kooti. Whitmore's casualties amounted to two killed and 14 wounded.
