60 people are dead as gunmen storm a concert hall close to Moscow and start shooting.
Attackers wearing uniforms burst into the building, started shooting, and hurled an incendiary device or grenade.
Ankush Pandey
Moscow
The Investigative Committee announced on Saturday that the death toll from the gunman's attack on a Moscow music hall had risen to almost 60, from 40 first reported by Russian news agencies.
"At this time, the deceased's bodies are being investigated. It has been tentatively confirmed that the terrorist attack claimed the lives of over sixty persons. Regretfully, the Investigative Committee stated that the death toll might increase.
According to a correspondent for the news agency RIA Novosti who was present, attackers wearing camouflage uniforms entered the building, started firing, and hurled an incendiary device or grenade.
With a capacity of several thousand and a history of hosting renowned worldwide performers, the music venue known as Crocus City, located in the northern Krasnogorsk area of the Russian capital, soon caught fire.
President Vladimir Putin's spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, informed Russian news agencies that authorities had opened a "terrorist" inquiry and that the president was getting "constant" briefings on the attack.
Video footage of flames and black smoke billowing from the hall was broadcast by security-affiliated Telegram news groups Baza and Mash.
Additional photos displayed two males moving through the hallway while at least one person remained on the ground close to the entryway. There were also reports of concertgoers trying to flee or hiding behind seats.
Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin postponed all public events for the weekend, citing a "terrible tragedy" at the Russian rock band Piknik's concert.
Between two and five persons "wearing tactical uniforms and carrying automatic weapons" began firing on security personnel at the entrance before beginning to shoot at the audience, according to security agencies cited by the news agency Interfax.
"For 15 or 20 minutes, people in the hall were led on the ground to protect themselves from the shooting," the RIA Novosti journalist was cited as saying.
As soon as it was it was safe, people began crawling out, the journalist said.
Odious crime
The emergency services ministry posted on its Telegram channel that some 100 people had fled through the theatre basement and that others had sought refuge on the roof.However, the TASS news agency stated that roughly one-third of the complex was on fire. The "bloody terrorist attack" was described by Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian foreign ministry."This disgusting crime must be denounced by the entire international community," she stated on Telegram.
Although the attack was deemed "terrible" by the US presidency, no direct connection to the war in Ukraine was seen at this time.
Journalists in Washington were informed by US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby that "there is no indication at this time that Ukraine or Ukrainians were involved in the shooting."
If top Ukrainian authorities were connected to the incident, former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev promised on Telegram that they "must be found and ruthlessly destroyed as terrorists."A huge security operation was initiated around the theatre and neighboring shopping mall. "I offer my condolences to the families of the dead," stated the mayor of Moscow.According to TASS, the OMON anti-riot squad, special police units, and SOBR had been dispatched to the Crocus hall.
It further stated that every member of the rock band had made a safe escape.
Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Orthodox church, was "praying for peace for the souls of the dead," according to Vladimir Legoyda, his spokesperson.
Previous warnings
Islamist organizations have previously attacked Moscow and other Russian cities, although there have also been instances where there was no obvious political motivation.
The US embassy in Russia issued a warning earlier this month stating that "extremists have imminent plans to target large gatherings in Moscow," which includes concerts.
In 2002, separatist Chechen terrorists captured 912 individuals in the Dobrovka theatre in Moscow and demanded that Russian forces leave the area.
Almost all of the 130 persons who died in the special forces operation on the theatre to put an end to the hostage-taking were suffocated by the gas that the security forces used to take out the shooters.
Since February 2022, Russia has been militarily intervening in Ukraine, and anti-Kremlin groups have been attacking the country along its border.
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Both the Ukrainian government and the Freedom of Russia Legion, whose combatants are drawn from the country's military forces, denied any involvement in the music hall assault.
