The events of the Ip massacre escalated in the early hours of 14 September 1940, in Ipp, (today Ip, Sălaj County), Northern Transylvania. After two Hungarian soldiers died there in an accidental explosion, rumors spread that they had been killed by Romanians. After another incident the Royal Hungarian Army, influenced by the rumor, indiscriminately massacred around 150 ethnic Romanians in the nearby locations and surrounding areas. Events After the Second Vienna Award of 30 August 1940, as a result of German–Italian arbitration, northwestern Transylvania reverted to Hungary. The area ceded by Romania contained the northwestern part of the homonymous region and the Székely lands. A total of eight of the 23 Transylvanian counties that had been part of Romania during the interwar period were entirely alienated, and another three were split. Thus, Sălaj County was also attached to Hungary. On 7 September 1940 the Hungarian Second Army arrived at Ipp (present-day Ip) where they made a short stop. After preparing to leave, more acquired grenades exploded in one of the sling-carts and in the detonation two soldiers died. The negligence of the proper storage was quickly identified but soon rumor had it that it was a willful action. This view escalated rapidly. On 8 September 1940, the Second Army entered the city of Zalău. On 13 September, the military commander of the district of Szilágysomlyó (present-day Șimleu Silvaniei) was informed that the nearby villages of Alsókaznacs, Felsőkaznacs, Márkaszék, Porc, Lecsmér, Somály, and Kémer (present-day Cosniciu de Jos, Cosniciu de Sus, Marca, Porț, Leșmir, Șumal, and Camăr) armed Romanian groups were looting. According to the report their number was between 80–100. Based on this report the 32nd Regiment stationing in Zilah (present-day Zalău) assigned a group to investigate the area. Meanwhile, the road, they arrived to Szilágynagyfalu (present-day Nușfalău) where they had been informed a few days before in Ipp two soldiers died in a detonation thus the same day they entered the commune where they conducted a raid instantly. After the reconnaissance, 18 suspicious persons were found and 16 have been executed, according to the official reports, because of their attempts to desert. Overnight, the Hungarian troops were residing in the local school when they were shot at from the street with a machine gun around 03:00 AM (some witnesses attested that the shooting came from a flat in the center, and five persons with machine guns were captured). In