Unknown persons have staged a shooting at the Crocus City Hall concert hall near Moscow. The deaths of 40 people are reported.
On Friday, 22 March, at around 20:00, there were reports of shooting and an explosion in the Crocus City Hall concert hall near Moscow. According to the description of eyewitnesses, the terrorist act was committed by at least three people in “camouflage”. According to the Federal Security Service of Russia, most of the hall’s visitors were evacuated, but the incident killed 40 people, three of them children, and another 100 suffered gunshot wounds of varying severity and carbon monoxide poisoning.
The TASS agency, citing operational services, reported smoke and repeated explosions. Law enforcement officers, EMERCOM brigades and more than 50 ambulance crews are working on the site, the capital’s OMON and SOBR units were called in on the alert. Also, the Governor of the Moscow region Andrey Vorobyov arrived at the concert hall.
At 21:30 it was reported that the perpetrators of the terrorist attack managed to leave the building of the Crocus City Hall due to extensive ignition. Law enforcement officials have blocked all exits from Moscow, while traffic police continue random checks of vehicles. Later, the Draya Efir Telegram channel reported the arrest of one of the suspects.
Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin ordered to provide all necessary assistance to all the victims. Chairman of the Investigative Committee Alexander Bastrykin coordinated the work of all emergency services at the scene of the incident, the agency opened a criminal case on the terrorist attack.
One of the Russian rock bands was to perform at Crocus this evening. Having broken into the parterre, the attackers opened fire, then threw a grenade or a saber. The United States and Ukraine have already commented on the incident and said they had nothing to do with the terrorist attack.
The attack has already been strongly condemned by the official representatives of Belarus, Serbia, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, Syria, Cuba, Poland and other states. All of them expressed their deepest condolences to the victims, citizens and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
According to the latest data from the Ministry of Emergency Situations, at the time of publication, the fire area reached 12900 square metres. Further information from the scene is still coming in.
