Many killed after Russian concert venue is attacked by terrorists

Up to 40 people have been killed and 100 wounded after a terror attack at a concert in Russia.

A group of gunmen opened fire at the Crocus City Hall on the outskirts of Moscow and more than a third of the building is on fire, according to reports from Russian state media (via The New York Times).

An explosion was also reported at 9:32 pm local time (6.32pm GMT) and emergency services are trying to rescue people from the venue’s roof.

The incident happened ahead of the Russian rock band Picnic’s performance at the venue.

Videos reportedly verified by The New York Times show multiple people holding guns entering Crocus City Hall, a shopping mall and concert venue in Krasnogorsk, a suburb on the northwestern outskirts of Moscow. The videos are said to show people wounded on the ground.

There has been no confirmation of who might be responsible for the attack, but state media agencies reported that there were up to five perpetrators involved.

Russia’s Investigative Committee also said it has opened a criminal case into a terrorist act and dispatched its investigators to the scene.

Emergency services claim more than 100 people have already been evacuated from the building.

Moscow Mayor Sergei S. Sobyanin said that multiple people had been killed and called it a “terrible tragedy.” He said all large events planned for the weekend will now be cancelled.

In St. Petersburg, more than 400 miles from Moscow, shopping centres were also reportedly being evacuated.

Shooting and aftermath:

• Unknown people, according to an eyewitness, started shooting in the hall and in the hall itself before the start of the concert.
• According to the Investigative Committee, the attackers were armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles and had a large amount of cartridges and ammunition.
• The Russian Investigative Committee reported that 93 people were killed. According to the FSB, over 100 were injured.
• The head of the Ministry of Health, Mikhail Murashko, announced that 115 people were hospitalized, including 5 children.
• 60 victims are in serious condition.
• Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said that the main work on emergency assistance to victims of the terrorist attack in Crocus City Hall has been completed; doctors are now stabilizing the condition of patients and continuing to work with those whose condition is assessed as the most serious.
• The Moscow Region Ministry of Health published a list of 145 victims.
• The Ministry of Emergency Situations published lists of victims; as of 4:00 Moscow time there were 99 people.
• The Ministry of Health reported that three children died as a result of the terrorist attack, and 121 victims are in hospitals.
• 107 people remain in hospitals, the Ministry of Emergency Situations reported.
• Over 600 donors donated blood during the first hour of operation of blood centers in the Moscow region, the Moscow Region Ministry of Health reported.
• The Moscow Region Ministry of Health published a list of those killed in Crocus City Hall.
• Children registered in the Moscow region, whose father or mother died in Crocus City Hall, will receive monthly payments, said Andrei Vorobyov, governor of the Moscow region.
• Rescuers have begun clearing the rubble at Crocus, the Ministry of Emergency Situations reported.
• A total of 88 people were admitted to Moscow city hospitals after the tragedy at Crocus City Hall, including four children, the capital’s health department said.
• The Ministry of Health stated that the condition of the 16 victims at Crocus is extremely serious.

Explosion and fire:

• After the shooting, information appeared about smoke and an explosion in the complex, followed by a fire.
• The fire was assigned an increased level of complexity.
• About a third of the building was on fire, with thick black smoke coming out.
• Firefighters removed people from the roof and evacuated about 100 people.
• Aviation was involved in extinguishing the fire. Helicopters dropped about 160 tons of water.
• The roof of the structure burned and almost completely collapsed. The smell of burning can be felt in neighboring areas.
• The fire, as of 0:55 Moscow time, was localized.
• Closer to 6:00 Moscow time, the helicopters involved in extinguishing the fire completed their work. The fires remain inside the building, and fire crews are watering the building.

Authorities' reaction:

• The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation opened a criminal case regarding the terrorist attack.
• Special law enforcement agencies are taking all necessary measures, the FSB of Russia said in the Central Operations Center.
• The Russian Foreign Ministry called the incident a bloody terrorist attack.
• Moscow SOBR and OMON, as well as firefighters, were sent to the scene of the incident
• More than 30 regional and 20 capital ambulance teams were sent to Crocus City Hall.
• Red Square was completely cordoned off.
• Traffic on the 65th–67th km of the Moscow Ring Road in the area of the emergency was difficult. The Myakinino station was operating normally.
• Security measures have been strengthened at Moscow airports and train stations.
• All public events have been canceled in Moscow and the Moscow region.
• Security measures in connection with the emergency have been strengthened in several regions of the Russian Federation, including the Moscow region, LPR, Dagestan, North Ossetia, Tula region and Nenets Autonomous Okrug.
• Murashko said that general lists of patients injured during the emergency at Crocus City Hall will be published on the website of the Ministry of Emergency Situations.
• The Social Fund has created a working group to provide support measures to victims. ​​​​​​
• Director of the FSB of the Russian Federation Alexander Bortnikov, Minister of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation Vladimir Kolokoltsev, Chairman of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation Alexander Bastrykin and Director of the Russian Guard Viktor Zolotov reported to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the progress of the investigation into the terrorist attack.
• The head of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Alexander Khinshtein, said that the security of the Crocus City Hall facility is provided by a private security company, and not by the Russian Guard.
• Director of the Russian FSB Alexander Bortnikov reported to Russian President Vladimir Putin about the detention of 11 people, including 4 terrorists who carried out the terrorist attack.
• The Investigative Committee reported the arrest of four suspects in the terrorist attack in Crocus.
• The Investigative Committee said that the terrorists used flammable liquid at Crocus to set fire to the premises.
• The FSB TsOS reported that work to identify accomplices continues.

International reaction:

• The White House expressed condolences over the shooting and said that the United States did not have advance information about the emergency. Washington stated that the incident was not related to the actions of Kyiv. The Russian Foreign Ministry noted that the US reaction to the terrorist attack raises questions.
• The White House said that the United States warned the Russian authorities in March about an impending terrorist attack.
• Advisor to the head of the office of the President of Ukraine, Mikhail Podolyak, stated that Kyiv was not involved in the incident.
• The UN is saddened by reports of the shooting and is trying to obtain additional information.
• Interpol expressed its readiness to support the Russian authorities in the investigation of the attack on civilians in Crocus City Hall.
• Both friendly and unfriendly countries, including Egypt, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Italy, Serbia, Germany, Luxembourg, Qatar, Cuba, Palestine, Bolivia, Iran, expressed their condolences in connection with the incident and condemnation of the incident at various levels. Venezuela, Uzbekistan, Republika Srpska, Turkey, Armenia, Malta, Abkhazia, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, France, Tajikistan, Mexico, Colombia, Austria, UAE, Syria, Slovakia, Moldova, Israel​, Bahrain, Greece, Argentina, Norway, Belgium , Netherlands, Chile, Montenegro, Scotland, Ecuador, Peru, Hungary, Uruguay, Panama, Morocco, New Zealand, Guatemala, Ireland, Mali, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, India, Costa Rica, Japan, Thailand, China, Cyprus, Mongolia, Czech Republic, Georgia, Mauritius, Kenya, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Afghanistan, Madagascar, Kuwait, South Africa, Burkina Faso, DR Congo, Tanzania, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Poland, Nepal, Malaysia, Netherlands, Somalia, UK, Germany, Hungary, Austria, Norway.
• The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan called the information about the involvement of citizens of the republic in the terrorist attack fake.
• Tajikistan is in contact with the Russian Federation regarding the alleged participation of its citizens in the terrorist attack, the information and press department of the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported.

About the site:

• Crocus City Hall is a concert hall in Krasnogorsk on the territory of the Crocus business center near the Myakinino station. Owned by Crocus Group of businessman Araz Agalarov. It was built according to the Crocus Group project and with technical support from the Central Research Institute of Building Structures named after. V. A. Kucherenko. The building has seven floors, the total usable area is more than 38 thousand square meters. m.
• The complex has a hall with more than 9.5 thousand seats.
• The complex opened on October 25, 2009.

Source of information: tass.ru
Note: Google translation