Gunmen shot at a rock concert in a Moscow suburb Friday, resulting in at least 40 deaths, 100 injuries, and starting a fire in the theatre, authorities reported.
Assailants in camouflage uniforms entered the building, fired weapons, and threw a grenade or incendiary bomb, as per a journalist for the RIA Novosti news agency at the scene.
Flames quickly spread through the Crocus City concert hall in the Krasnogorsk suburb in the north of the Russian capital, which can accommodate several thousand people and has hosted top international artists.
The FSB security service stated, “Based on initial information, 40 people were killed and over 100 were injured as a result of a terrorist attack in the Crocus City Hall,” as quoted by Interfax news agency and other Russian media.
Authorities stated that a “terrorist” inquiry had been initiated, and President Vladimir Putin was receiving “constant” updates on the attack, according to his spokesman Dmitry Peskov speaking to Russian news agencies.
Telegram news channels Baza and Mash, linked to security forces, displayed video footage of flames and black smoke billowing from the hall.
Other footage showed two men walking through the hall with at least one person lying on the ground near the entrance. Concert-goers were also seen hiding behind seats or attempting to escape.
Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin described a “terrible tragedy” at the concert by Russian rock band Piknik and canceled all public events in the city for the weekend.
Security services cited by Interfax news agency stated that between two and five individuals “wearing tactical uniforms and carrying automatic weapons” started shooting at guards at the entrance and then at the audience.
“People who were in the hall were lying on the ground to protect themselves from the shooting for 15 or 20 minutes,” the RIA Novosti journalist reported.
People started crawling out when it was safe, the journalist said.
‘Odious crime’
About 100 people escaped through the theatre basement while others were taking shelter on the roof, as reported by the emergency services ministry on its Telegram channel.
But about one-third of the complex was on fire, TASS reported.
Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said it had been a “bloody terrorist attack”.
“The whole international community must condemn this odious crime,” she said on Telegram.
The US presidency called the attack “terrible” but said there was no immediate sign of any link to the conflict in Ukraine.
“There is no indication at this time that Ukraine, or Ukrainians were involved in the shooting,” US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters in Washington.
Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev vowed on Telegram that Ukraine’s top officials “must be found and ruthlessly destroyed as terrorists” if they were linked to the attack.
“I offer my condolences to the families of the dead,” said Moscow’s mayor as a major security operation was launched around the theatre and nearby shopping mall.
TASS said that SOBR, special police forces, and the OMON anti-riot squad had been sent to the Crocus hall.
The band members were all safely evacuated, according to the report.
Patriarch Kirill’s spokesperson, Vladimir Legoyda, stated that the Orthodox church leader was praying for peace for the deceased souls.
Previous cautions
Moscow and other Russian cities have experienced attacks by Islamist groups in the past, as well as incidents with unclear political motives.
The US embassy in Russia cautioned earlier this month about potential extremist plans to target large gatherings in Moscow, including concerts.
In 2002, Chechen separatist fighters held 912 people hostage in a Moscow theatre, demanding the withdrawal of Russian troops from the region.
The special forces used a gas to subdue the gunmen during the hostage-taking at the theatre, resulting in the deaths of 130 people, most of whom were suffocated.
Following Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine in February 2022, it has been the focus of attacks along the border by anti-Kremlin forces.
Both Ukraine’s presidency and the Freedom of Russia Legion, which is part of Ukraine’s armed forces, denied any involvement in the concert hall attack.
AFP
