LAST UPDATE | 18 hrs ago
GUNMEN OPENED FIRE at a concert hall in a Moscow suburb today leaving people dead and wounded before a major fire spread through the building, Moscow’s mayor and Russian news agencies reported.
Russia’s top security agency has said 40 people have died and more than 100 are wounded. Russia has today condemned the “bloody terrorist attack”.
Jihadist group Islamic State has officially claimed responsibility for the attack on their Telegram social media page. The post said the group had “attacked a large gathering” of people on the outskirts of the Russian capital.
“The entire world community must condemn this despicable crime!”, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote on Telegram. The FSB security service reported the attack left dead and wounded.
Attackers dressed in camouflage outfits entered the building, opened fire and threw a grenade or incendiary bomb, according to a journalist for the RIA Novosti news agency who was at the scene.
One video shows four men with guns walking into Crocus City Hall. Screams can be heard from a group of people who are gathered together in a corner of a wide room, one gunman approaches and shoots at them at close range.
Next to them, one person can be seen covering another with their body on the ground. Further back in the hall, two people can be seen hiding behind a large column.
Fire quickly spread through the Crocus City Hall, north of the Russian capital, where the theatre can hold several thousand people and has staged several concerts by top international artists.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is receiving “constant” updates about the attack on a concert hall outside Moscow that left dozens dead on Friday, his spokesman said.
“The President is constantly being informed by all relevant services about what is happening and the measures being taken,” spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian news agencies.
Russian authorities said at least 40 people were killed and 100 wounded in a gun attack on a concert hall in the Moscow suburbs.
“Around 100 people have been evacuated from the basement by the firefighters. Work is ongoing to save people from the roof of the building with lifting equipment,” the Moscow region’s emergency situations ministry wrote on Telegram.
An apparent terrorist attack at a club/shopping center in Moscow before a performance started. Dozens wounded and dead. There was also an explosion and the building is on fire.
— Aric Toler (@AricToler) March 22, 2024
Early videos show multiple men (3, per state media) in camo shooting rifles. pic.twitter.com/WCRmznrldq
“Unknown people opened fire at the Crocus City Hall. The evacuation of people is ongoing,” emergency services told TASS news agency.
RIA Novosti, quoting its journalist, said “automatic gunfire” had left victims dead at the theatre. Russia’s national guard said it is searching for the perpetrators of the attack.
“Special units of the Russian Federal Guard are working at the site of the terrorist attack at the Crocus City Hall. A search for criminals is underway and citizens are being evacuated from the building,” a spokesperson said.
The White House sent its condolences this evening to the victims of a “terrible” shooting at a concert hall in the Russian capital Moscow, saying it was trying to get more information.
“Our thoughts are with the victims of this terrible shooting attack,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters. “The images are just horrible and just hard to watch.”
Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin said he is horrified by news of the attack and condemned the targeting of civilians.
“Targeting civilians can never be justified in any circumstances. I extend my condolences to all those who have lost loved ones,” he said on X this evening.
The UN chief Antonio Guterres condemned the attack “in the strongest possible terms”, a spokesperson said on Friday.
They added: “The Secretary-General conveys his deep condolences to the bereaved families and the people and the Government of the Russian Federation.”
A spokesperson for the European Union has said it is “shocked and appalled” by the reports of the attack in the Crocus City Hall in Moscow.
“The EU condemns any attacks against civilians. Our thoughts are with all those Russian citizens affected,” they added.
The French and Spanish Departments for Foreign Affairs have also condemned the terror attack. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called the attack an “odious act of terrorism”.
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