A group of individuals suspected to be terrorists infiltrated a hall in Moscow on Friday, opening fire on the crowd and resulting in the deaths of 60 people, with over 145 sustaining injuries.
The venue was also set ablaze in a bold attack shortly after President Vladimir Putin secured his power through an orchestrated electoral victory.
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the assault through a statement on social media channels. U.S. intelligence agencies had reportedly warned Russian officials about the group’s plans for an attack in Moscow.
The fate of the attackers following the incident remains unclear, as state investigators are treating the case as an act of terrorism.
This tragic event, which saw the concert hall engulfed in flames and its roof collapsing, stands as one of the deadliest in Russia in recent years, occurring amidst the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin described the attack as a “massive tragedy.”
The Kremlin notified Putin within minutes of the attackers entering Crocus City Hall, a large music venue on the outskirts of Moscow with a capacity of 6,200 people.
The incident occurred during a concert by the Russian rock band Picnic, where more than 60 people were reported dead by the Investigative Committee, the country’s top criminal investigation agency, early Saturday.
Health authorities disclosed that 145 individuals were injured, with 115 of them being hospitalized, including five children.
Several Russian news outlets suggested that additional victims might have been trapped in the fire caused by the explosives thrown by the assailants.
Videos depicted the building engulfed in flames, with a massive cloud of smoke billowing into the night sky.
The street was illuminated by the flashing blue lights of numerous fire trucks, ambulances, and other emergency vehicles, while fire helicopters circled overhead to douse the flames, which took several hours to extinguish.
According to the prosecutor’s office, a group of individuals dressed in combat fatigues stormed into the concert hall and opened fire on the attendees.
“There were volleys of gunfire,” Primov told the AP. “We all got up and tried to move toward the aisles. People began to panic, started to run and collided with each other. Some fell down and others trampled on them.”
Videos posted by Russian media and on messaging app channels showed men toting assault rifles shooting screaming people at point-blank range. One video showed a man in the auditorium saying the assailants had set it on fire, as gunshots rang out incessantly.
According to reports from Russian media, security guards at the concert hall were unarmed, leaving them vulnerable to potential harm during the attack.
Some news sources in Russia indicated that the attackers managed to escape before special forces and riot police could intervene. Police patrols were said to be searching for vehicles that the assailants may have used to flee the scene.
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement released by its Aamaq news agency, stating that they targeted a large gathering of “Christians” in Krasnogorsk on the outskirts of Moscow, resulting in numerous casualties. The authenticity of this claim could not be immediately verified.
