MOSCOW –
At least 40 people were killed and over 100 hurt when gunmen in camouflage clothing opened fire with automatic weapons on people at a concert in the Crocus City Hall near Moscow on Friday, Russia’s FSB security service said.
In one of the worst such attacks in Russia in years, at least five gunmen were shown in unverified videos firing repeatedly at screaming civilians cowering in the concert hall as Soviet-era rock group “Picnic” was about to perform.
Other video footage showed the men shooting people below what looked like an entrance sign to “Crocus City Hall.” People lying motionless in pools of blood outside the hall were also visible.
All the tickets in the 6,200-seat concert hall had been sold out. State news agency TASS cited Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB, as saying 40 people had been killed and more than 100 wounded.
“Suddenly there were bangs behind us – shots. A burst of firing – I do not know what,” one witness who asked not to be named told Reuters.
“A stampede began, everyone ran to the escalator,” the witness said. “Everyone was screaming, everyone was running.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin is receiving regular updates about the shooting, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.
“Vladimir Putin was informed about the beginning of the shooting in the first minutes of what happened in Crocus City Hall,” the Kremlin said.
“The president constantly receives information about what is happening and about the measures being taken through all relevant services. The head of state gave all the necessary instructions,” Peskov said.
The shooting began days after Putin was re-elected for a new six-year term and as Russia is prosecuting a war with Ukraine.
Flames leapt into the sky and plumes of black smoke rose above the venue as hundreds of blue lights from emergency vehicles flashed into the night, Reuters pictures and video showed.
Helicopters sought to douse the flames and evacuated around 100 people from the basement, Russian media reported. The roof of the venue was collapsing, state news agency RIA said.
Russian media reported a second blast at the venue and there were reports that some of the gunmen had barricaded themselves somewhere in the building.
It was not immediately unclear who the attackers were. No group has yet claimed responsibility.
Two weeks ago, the U.S. embassy in Russia warned that “extremists” had imminent plans for an attack in Moscow.
It issued its warning several hours after the FSB said it had foiled an attack on a synagogue in Moscow by a cell of the militant Sunni Muslim group Islamic State.
A massive fire is seen over the Crocus City Hall on the western edge of Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 22, 2024. (Sergei Vedyashkin/Moscow News Agency via AP)
Russia’s foreign ministry said it was a “bloody terrorist attack.”
“The entire world community is obliged to condemn this monstrous crime,” Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. “All efforts are being thrown at saving people.”
In one unverified video posted on social media, men with automatic weapons were shown firing repeatedly at screaming civilians, including women, who were cowering below what looked like an entrace sign to “Crocus City Hall.”
Other video footage showed a number of people lying motionless in pools of blood outside the hall. Reuters was unable to immediately verify the footage.
Another video showed the attackers shooting at people in the concert hall.The White House said on Friday that images of shooting in the Russian capital were hard to watch.
“The images are just horrible and just hard to watch and our thoughts obviously are going to be with the victims of this terrible, terrible shooting attack,” White House spokesman John Kirby said.
The U.S. embassy in Russia warned earlier this month that “extremists” had imminent plans for an attack in Moscow.