Islamic State have claimed responsibility for a suspected terror attack which has killed at least 40 people at a packed concert venue on the outskirts of Moscow.
Around 100 people were also hurt when gunmen in camouflage clothing opened fire with automatic weapons on people at a concert in the Crocus City Hall on Friday.
In one of the worst such attacks in Russia in years, at least five people 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 at around 8pm local time.
IS fighters ‘attacked a large gathering… on the outskirts of the Russian capital Moscow’, the group said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app. The IS statement said the attackers had ‘retreated to their bases safely’.
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.
A map showing the location of the Crocus City Hall, which is situated 12 miles from the Kremlin in central Moscow
Gunmen have targeted a concert hall in a mass shooting in Moscow
The large venue was engulfed in flames after at least five armed men in camouflage stormed the hall (Pictured: Emergency services at the scene)
At least 40 people are now feared dead, with over 100 estimated to be left injured by the blaze
A video grab show people evacuating the Crocus City Hall in the Russian capital
Confused concertgoers leave the building as armed terrorists open fire at the Crocus City Hall in Moscow
Emergency services personnel and servicemen are seen outside the Crocus City Hall
Helicopters sought to douse the flames and evacuated around 100 people from the basement, Russian media reported.
Police, special forces and 70 ambulances attended the scene, with some video footage showing a number of people lying motionless in pools of blood outside the hall.
Russian authorities said a ‘terrorist’ investigation had been started and President Vladimir Putin was receiving ‘constant’ updates, his spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian news agencies.
Other video footage showed the men shooting people below what looked like an entrance sign to ‘Crocus City Hall’. Another clip showed at least four people attacking the crowd with guns, to the sounds of shots ringing around the building and smashed glass.
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.
After the attack, Russia tightened security at airports, transportation stations and across the capital – a vast urban area of over 21 million people.
‘A terrible tragedy occurred in the shopping centre Crocus City today,’ Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said. ‘I am sorry for the loved ones of the victims.’
Shocking photos showed huge flames and smoke rising from the concert hall in Moscow
Members of the Russian special operations forces are seen near the burning concert hall
Police have blocked the road towards Crocus City after gunmen burst into the venue
At least a dozen people are feared dead following the incident
The shooting is being treated as a major incident, weeks after warnings from embassies of an imminent attack by ‘extremists’
A huge ball of fire engulfs the 6,000-seater concert hall in the Moscow suburbs, as a Russian National Guard secures the area around the venue
The hall, which is still ablaze, has a capacity of 6,000 spectators
Senior Russian security official and ex-president Dmitry Medvedev said those who masterminded the shooting should be hunted down and killed.
Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, made the statement on his official account on the Telegram messenger service.
‘All of them must be found and ruthlessly destroyed as terrorists,’ said Medvedev. ‘Death for death.’
Alexei, a music producer visiting the concert, told AFP he heard ‘several machine gun bursts and a terrible female scream. Then a lot of screams. Just three or four bursts and then there were a few more’.
‘Then white smoke started to billow,’ he said. There was a ‘terrible crush’ as people tried to escape and people ‘were climbing on their heads to get out’, he added.
‘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.’
Another witness told Russian state-owned domestic news agency RIA Novosti: ‘People in the hall lay down on the floor to escape the shooting, lay there for 15-20 minutes, after which they began to crawl out. Many managed to get out.’
There were reports of a bomb and flame devices at the hall, which has a capacity of 6,000
Emergency services attempt to extinguish the blaze following the shooting incident
Firefighters use a platform and hoses to put out the huge flames rising up from the burning building
Flames belch from the roof of the Crocus City Hall as dozens of emergency service vehicles attend the scene
A third eyewitness said: ‘Nothing was announced at first. We were already lying on the floor between the chairs.
‘They said nothing, absolutely nothing. We just lay there and didn’t know what to do.’
A fourth said: ‘We just took our seats [when the shooting started]. It was literally 8 pm, 8:05, or 8:10. Shooting started from further away, from above.
‘We sat on the very top row. At first everything was ok, it was kind of unclear what it was.
‘Then we realised that something was wrong when we noticed that the ticket takers with these walkie-talkies began to run from top to bottom.’
The witness continued: ‘The shooting started all over again, we heard it from above, we were sitting, then we heard it, we started moving all the way down, we realised that they were also shooting below.
‘We lay down at the bottom, in the middle, or rather somewhere on the floor, then we realised that all the people were going upstairs, and we started moving up.
‘We eventually got out somewhere at the top. We began to go down the escalators. In short, we hid. They were shooting from all sides, just from all of them.
‘We lay there, then noticed that people were somehow running down the escalator. We ran after them. There was one girl lying there.’
A clip shows a terrorist running through security gates at the concert hall
Pictured: Hundreds of people get up from their seats and head for the exits as gunshots are heard at the concert hall
Horror photos show a huge column of smoke filling the air around the Crocus Concert Hall
The US and UK embassies warned two weeks ago about such an attack by ‘extremists’ at a crowded venue. Officials warned foreign nationals to stay away from busy venues.
The US embassy warned on 8 March: ‘The Embassy is monitoring reports that extremists have imminent plans to target large gatherings in Moscow, to include concerts, and US citizens should be advised to avoid large gatherings.’
Crocus City Hall is located in the city’s Krasnogorsk Urban Settlement in the Krasnogorsky District and was opened in October 2009, around 14 miles from the Kremlin.
The attack comes days after Russian President Vladimir Putin was confirmed as the winner of the country’s presidential election last weekend.
The White House said that images of the shooting were hard to watch while Germany’s foreign ministry called the images ‘horrific.’
‘…Our thoughts obviously are going to be with the victims of this terrible, terrible shooting attack,’ White House spokesman John Kirby said.
Germany’s foreign ministry said on X/Twitter, ‘The background must be clarified quickly. Our deepest condolences go out to the families of the victims.’
Witnesses have described scenes of panic and pandemonium as crowds heard sounds of shooting in the hall
Pictured: Men covering themselves with blankets as a Russian law enforcement officer stands guard near the burning concert hall
Russian officers standing outside the building on fire, after gunmen stormed the venue at 8pm local time
Armed officers have been deployed to deal with the incident, which has seen some concertgoers take cover on the building’s roof
Emergency service vehicles are seen arriving at the burning venue, which is 12 miles from the Kremlin
Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said that Kyiv ‘had absolutely nothing to do with these events’ in a video message posted on Telegram while Kirby said there was ‘no indication at this time that Ukraine, or Ukrainians were involved in the shooting.’
Zakharova questioned how the U.S. knew this and said Washington should immediately pass any information it had to Moscow, or stop making such statements.
‘On what basis do officials in Washington draw any conclusions in the midst of a tragedy about someone’s innocence?’ Zakharova said.
The European Union said it had been ‘shocked and appalled’ by the attack.
The EU ‘is shocked and appalled by the reports of a terrorist attack in the Crocus City Hall in Moscow,’ said a spokesman for the bloc.
‘The EU condemns any attacks against civilians. Our thoughts are with all those Russian citizens affected.’
Police have arrived on the scene of the attack, days after the country’s presidential election
Crocus City Hall is located in the city’s Krasnogorsk Urban Settlement in the Krasnogorsky District
A picture shows the large concert hall, which opened in October 2009, ablaze
Police and special forces have arrived on the scene just outside the Russian capital
Around 50 ambulances are also attending the incident
The attack comes days after both the US and British embassies warned of a threat from ‘extremists’ in Moscow
‘The entire world community is obliged to condemn this monstrous crime,’ Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
‘All efforts are being thrown at saving people.’
