The Dahije leaders gave orders to their
mütesellims and others, such as innkeepers, to kill Serb leaders, but still personally involved themselves. They made use of the innkeepers (
handžije) and village henchmen (
subaşı), known as especially cruel. S. Novaković believed that Mehmed-aga Fočić was tasked with overseeing the operation. The victims were
obor-knezes (
knežina mayors),
knezes (village mayors),
buljubašas (captains), merchants, clergy, and other chosen people. The decisions to kill Serb notables were made by the Dahije some time between . At first, the Dahije henchmen were sent to carry out the murders, and then the Dahije leaders themselves set out from Belgrade to carry out murders of selected people. The newly appointed mütesellim of Kragujevac, Kučuk-Husejin, called on merchants to renew their trading rights, including former militia captain Mata, the
knez Jovica,
Mladen Milovanović, and Karađorđe, the latter refused to come. Kučuk-Husejin imprisoned the three, then killed Mata and Jovica. Those who were called upon but refused to, were now sent after and killed, with Karađorđe surviving an attempt at Topola by Uzun-Mehmed and his 12 men. On , a Turk
sipahi named Asan-aga was murdered by
Janićije Đurić below the
Venčac mountain, which led to a manhunt by innkeeper Ibrahim of Topola, the innkeepers of Žabari and Šume, as well as others from Banja and Lipovac.
Petar Jokić was approached by Ibrahim and asked to protect his inn from potential robbery. According to
Gaja Pantelić, Uzun-Mehmed's gang had come to Topola during the manhunt and asked of Karađorđe's whereabouts. The Dahije leaders decided that they personally kill some of the knezes, thus, Mehmed-aga Fočić went for Valjevo and Šabac nahiyas, Kučuk-Alija went for Smederevo, Ćuprija and Jagodina nahiyas, Mula-Jusuf went to Belgrade and Grocka nahiyas, while Aganlija seems to have stayed in Belgrade. The leaders each took a strong Janissary contingent with them into the nahiyas, leaving Belgrade on at latest, and some being back in Belgrade by . The Dahije killed people while travelling the nahiyas. Mehmed-aga Fočić left Belgrade on for Valjevo where none of the Serb leaders awaited him, enraging him, then stayed at the
konak (mansion) of the
Bogovađa Monastery for two days where he secretly issued further orders of murder. His escorts, Stanoje Mihailović and
Sima Marković, and the monastery archimandrite
Hadži-Ruvim, were unaware of his plans. Fočić then returned for Valjevo on , meeting up with
Aleksa Nenadović,
Ilija Birčanin and Milovan Grbović on a field, from where his 200 Janissaries took them to a dungeon. The
knez Stanoje Mihailović was killed on , at his home while preparing a meal for three of Fočić's men, sent by Fočić while he stayed at Bogovađa. The first victims are believed to have been knezes Stevan Palalija, Marko J. Čarapić and Stanoje Mihailović. Mula-Jusuf burnt down the village of
Vrčin in the Grocka nahiya, while Kučuk-Alija went into the Smederevo nahiya and cleansed the village of
Baničina and killed several in
Plana, then "beheaded in secrecy" in
Ćuprija and went through the Požarevac nahiya, where the Livadice village was burnt down and many people were killed in Mlava, then returned to Belgrade. Aleksa Nenadović and Ilija Birčanin were executed by beheading on , with Fočić reading the intercepted conspiratory letter out loud. Their severed heads were put on display at Fočić's house. By , the Dahije decided that all notable Serbs were to be beaten, so that what was left would become real "
rayah, to serve well"; local Turks then began to attack chosen notables in their districts. By killing Nenadović, Birčanin, Marko and Vasa Čarapić,
knez Petar of Gložane, and Karađorđe, the Dahije believed they would rid themselves of notable Serb militia commanders. There are different accounts on the murder of Hadži-Ruvim: According to archpriest
Matija Nenadović (the son of Aleksa), Hadži-Ruvim heard of the imprisonment of Nenadović and Birčanin and went to Belgrade Metropolitan
Leontius, who instead of harboring him, gave him up to Aganlija, whose men had Hadži-Ruvim beheaded at the Varoš Gate. According to
V. Karadžić, Hadži-Ruvim went to Belgrade and sought to hide with his nephew
Petar Moler, who was the painter of Kučuk-Alija's mansions, but Kučuk-Alija sent him to Aganlija who threw in the dungeon. According to Zemun archpriest
Mihailo Pejić, Leontius invited Hadži-Ruvim to Belgrade and asked him of the state of the people, to which he answered that "no words could describe the discontent and suffering", and advised the Metropolitan that the two cross into Austria, as the people planned an uprising against the Dahije. The Metropolitan then informed the Dahije of their discussion, and the Dahije arrested Hadži-Ruvim and brought him to Kučuk-Alija on , then killed him the next day. Karađorđe was surrounded and attacked by Uzun-Mehmed (the second or third attempt), it is believed on , but Karađorđe managed to kill two or more of the attackers and fled into the woods, according to several accounts. Karađorđe went and met with hajduk leader
Stanoje Glavaš. In early February (the end of January according to Old Calendar) Fočić stayed at Šabac then secretly and quickly returned to Belgrade by boat where he and his associates discussed how to calm down the people after the murders. Archpriest Pejić wrote a letter to metropolitan
Stefan Stratimirović some time between and saying "these days revenge was done on Serbs, which the Janissaries long wanted". By , 72 severed heads had been brought to Belgrade. The relative of Kučuk-Alija, who was captured during the subsequent uprising, acknowledged the Dahije intention to erase all more important people and to put new serfs and chiefs in their place. These newly appointed would then be imprisoned and held hostage until all weapons of the villagers be collected, after which every person that was over the age of 10 during the Austro-Turkish war be killed and the rest forcibly converted into Islam. ==Victims==