According to initial findings, more than 100 people were injured in the Crocus City Hall in the city of Krasnagorsk, the authority was quoted as saying by the Russian news agency Interfax on Friday evening. Russia’s Central Investigative Committee opened a case into a suspected “act of terrorism.”
- A video on X shows the “Crocus” concert hall in flames
According to authorities, further explosions were reported after shots and a fire in the event hall. Unidentified people wearing camouflage clothing stormed the Crocus City Hall shortly before the start of a concert and opened fire, the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office said. The background to the incident was initially unclear. According to Russian media, the victims are said to be both employees and visitors to the concert hall.
Flames and smoke can be seen
Blazing flames and a huge cloud of smoke could be seen on the famous building. The roof is said to have collapsed. The situation was confusing. According to authorities, dozens of ambulances and many buses were deployed to bring people to safety. There are thousands of seats in the auditoriums. According to the Interfax news agency, the spread of the fire in the concert hall was stopped.
Picture gallery: The first pictures: shooters opened fire in the Moscow concert hall
(Photo: STRINGER (AFP)) Bild 1/11
View gallery
According to the Kremlin, Russian President Vladimir Putin has been informed about the events “from the first minute.” According to Interfax, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that he constantly receives all important information about what is happening and the measures taken via the relevant services.
The head of the Federation Council, the upper house of the Russian parliament, Valentina Matviyenko, threatened the masterminds of the attack with retaliation. “Those behind this terrible crime will receive the deserved and inevitable punishment,” she wrote on her Telegram channel. At the same time, she announced, the state would do everything it could to help those left behind.
“Pictures are just terrible”
In an initial reaction, the USA warned not to establish any connection with Ukraine. “There is no evidence that Ukraine or Ukrainians had anything to do with the shooting,” US National Security Council communications director John Kirby said in Washington. Not much can be said about the details yet, but at this early stage we strongly advise against the assumption that there is a connection to Ukraine. “The images are simply terrible,” Kirby also emphasized, saying that his thoughts were with the victims and their families. The US State Department is advising local American citizens to avoid large gatherings of people. Ukraine had nothing to do with the shooting in Moscow, said Ukrainian presidential adviser Mychailo Podolyak.
- HONEY 1: Shots and fire in a concert hall near Moscow
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin canceled all sporting, cultural and other events for the weekend in the evening. He asked for your understanding of the measure, he wrote in his Telegram channel.
The widow of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, Yulia Navalnaya, expressed her condolences to the families of the victims. Navalnaya lives in exile. Her husband, once a sharp critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, died in a Russian prison camp just a few weeks ago.
Speculation since March 7th
Speculation about a possible terrorist attack in Moscow had been circulating since March 7th. At that time, the US Embassy issued a warning about this, which was also adopted by the Austrian Foreign Ministry on March 8th. For his part, Putin on Tuesday strongly denounced “provocative statements by a number of official Western structures” about a possible terrorist attack in Russia. “All of this is reminiscent of open blackmail and the intention to spread fear and destabilize our society,” he explained to the top brass of the domestic intelligence service FSB, which is responsible for combating terrorism.
In 2002, Chechen gunmen took control of 850 people in a musical theater. On the fourth day of the drama, the domestic secret service stunned the captors and the hostages with a gas. The terrorists were shot. 135 hostages died, most of them due to inadequate medical care.
