2024-03-22 21:48:20
At least four people shot concert-goers. A fire broke out after an explosion, and the secret service confirmed deaths and injuries. The perpetrators are on the run.
Russian special forces in front of Moscow’s Crocus City Hall.
Maxim Shemetov / Reuters
At least four gunmen opened fire in a Moscow concert hall on Friday evening. Videos show people shooting into the crowd with submachine guns. Eyewitnesses report that shots were fired both in the concert hall and in the corridors. Spectators fled in panic. The FSB secret service has now confirmed forty dead and over a hundred injured. The Ministry of Health later spoke of 145 people who had been taken to hospitals. According to media reports, there are also children among the victims.
The building is on fire, images show, and there are reports that at least parts of the roof have collapsed. The Russian Civil Defense Ministry reported that an area of 13,000 square meters was affected by the fire. According to several news agencies, the reason is at least two explosions. An eyewitness reported that the attackers were carrying bottles of flammable liquid, which they set on fire.
At least four attackers were involved in the attack.
Screenshot X (Twitter)
Terror investigations and storming by special forces
Shortly before 10 p.m. (Moscow local time), two hours after the first shots were fired, several groups of special forces stormed into the building. Journalists report the noise of fighting. It is unclear how many spectators are in the building. Shortly after 11 p.m. (local time), the National Guard reported that the attackers had not yet been found.
According to the state news agency Tass, only around a hundred people were evacuated. They hid in the basement because, according to eyewitnesses, the exits were blocked. The main hall of the Crocus City Hall on the outskirts of Moscow has a capacity of 6,200 spectators. The well-known Russian rock band Piknik was supposed to play on Friday evening and the concert was sold out.
The concert hall is located on the outskirts of Moscow
The authorities apparently clearly assume a terrorist attack. The state investigative committee was investigating, it was said later in the evening. It did not give any details. However, shopping centers in Moscow and St. Petersburg were evacuated and security measures were increased at airports and train stations. Major cultural events have been canceled across the country.
The background to the crime is still unclear. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack on Telegram last night. US officials thought this was plausible, reports the New York Times. An Islamist background had previously been suspected. Two weeks ago, the FSB said it had dismantled two Islamic State cells and killed several people in the process. They are said to have planned an attack on a synagogue in Moscow. The American embassy in the Russian capital then warned of a possible imminent attack. In mid-week, Putin called this statement a provocation from the West.
Many terrorist attacks in Moscow’s history
Moscow has a long history of terrorist attacks, often linked to its wars in the Muslim-dominated North Caucasus. In 1999, 300 people died in the explosion of residential buildings in the capital. In 2002, security forces stormed Moscow’s Dubrovka Theater and accidentally killed 170 people by using poisonous gas. The last major attack was thirteen years ago.
Ukrainian intelligence has carried out several assassination attempts in Moscow since Putin’s invasion in 2022. However, these were aimed exclusively at individuals. Nevertheless, on Friday evening, Russian propagandists, including Dmitry Medvedev, directly or indirectly accused Kiev. One said that “Ukrainian backers” had incited Muslims against Russia. A spokesman for President Zelensky denied any involvement.
Collaboration: Forrest Rogers.
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