Attack on Moscow concert hall kills at least 40 and injures over 100, confirm Russian officials
Russia’s Federal Security Service said 40 people died and more than 100 were wounded in an attack Friday at a Moscow concert hall.
A group of gunmen dressed in combat gear stormed into a large concert hall at Crocus City Hall on Moscow’s western edge and unleashed automatic gunfire on the audience.
Russia’s leading investigative body is probing the shootings as a terrorist attack.
Some news outlets have reported that ISIS has taken responsibility for the incident, though these claims have yet to be independently confirmed.
Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Foreign Ministry, described the event as a “bloody terrorist attack.”
The assault occurred just days after President Vladimir Putin cemented his grip on the country in a highly orchestrated electoral landslide.
According to Interfax, a group of men began shooting both at the building’s entrance and within the hall, where numerous attendees were present for a “Picnic” rock group concert. Videos recorded by eyewitnesses audibly captured the machine gun fire.
The band members were said to be unharmed as they were in the dressing room getting ready for their performance at the time of the incident.
News reports said that the assailants also used explosives, causing a massive blaze at the concert hall.
Video posted on social media showed huge plumes of black smoke rising over the building.
Riot police units were sent to the area as people were being evacuated.
Russian authorities said security was tightened at Moscow’s airports and railway stations.
Following the deadly armed assault, Moscow’s Mayor Sergei Sobyanin has announced the cancellation of all public events scheduled for the weekend in the city.
Belarusian leader Aleksandr Lukashenko, in a message to Putin, vehemently denounced the “brutal murder of innocent people,” a sentiment echoed by Kazakh President Tokayev, who also offered support to Russian law enforcement.
Ukraine denies involvement in attacks
The White House offered its sympathies to the victims and their families in light of the attack. The United States had issued warnings about potential terrorist activities in Moscow, just days before the attack.
Bellingcat investigative journalist Hristo Grozev noted after the incident that Washington had said that the attacks were being prepared by the Afghan group ISIS-K.
Deputy Chairman of the UN Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, claimed the “Kyiv regime” could be behind the attack.
Ukraine has denied involvement in the attacks, with Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the Ukrainian president writing on X:
“Ukraine certainly has nothing to do with the shooting/explosions in the Crocus City Hall (Moscow Region, Russia). It makes no sense whatsoever …”
“Everything in this war will be decided only on the battlefield…Terrorist attacks do not solve any problems,” he added.
