ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack on a popular concert venue complex near Moscow on Friday, which killed at least 60 people and hospitalized 145 others after attackers stormed the venue with guns and incendiary devices. On Friday, the terror group claimed responsibility for the Moscow attack in a short statement published on Telegram by the ISIS-affiliated news agency Amaq. The group did not provide evidence to back up its claim.
Video footage from the attack site, the Crocus City Hall concert venue, shows the vast complex, which includes both the music hall and a shopping center, on fire with smoke billowing in the air. According to state news agency RIA Novosti, the armed individuals “opened fire with automatic weapons” and “threw a grenade or an incendiary bomb, which started a fire.” They then “allegedly fled in a white Renault car,” according to the news agency. Russia 24 reported that the venue’s roof had partially collapsed.
The attack occurred before the music group Picnic was scheduled to perform
The attack occurred before the music group Picnic was scheduled to perform, according to Russia 24. The band’s manager informed state media that the performers were unharmed.
According to TASS, the Russia Prosecutor General’s Office reported that “unidentified people in camouflage broke into Crocus City Hall and began shooting before the start of the concert.”
As the attack began, video footage showed panic, with crowds huddling together, screaming, and ducking behind cushioned seats as gunshots echoed throughout the vast hall. According to a video obtained by CNN, one group of people sheltering next to a large wall of windows outside the concert venue were forced to break them in order to escape gunfire.
Regional governor Andrey Vorobyov stated that everything was being done to save lives in what is now the deadliest terror attack on Moscow in decades. A SWAT team was dispatched to the area, and over 70 ambulances and doctors assisted the victims.
Russian authorities say at least 60 people were killed in Moscow attack
TASS reported that one hundred forty-five people had been hospitalized. Sixty individuals are in “serious condition.”
According to the Kremlin, Russian President Vladimir Putin was informed of the attack and is being kept up to date on ground operations.
Putin wished those injured in the attack a speedy recovery, according to the state-run RIA-Novosti news agency. He also “conveyed his gratitude to the doctors,” according to the RIA.
On Friday night, Moscow City Duma Chairman Alexey Shaposhnikov urged Moscow residents to donate blood to help treat victims, claiming that “this is a matter of life and death for dozens of people.”
Shaposhnikov listed several blood center facilities in the Moscow area that will accept donations over the weekend.
TASS reported that firefighters evacuated approximately 100 people from the building. According to the Main Directorate of the Russian Federation’s Ministry of Emergency Situations, rescue workers are still working to get people off the roof.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin described the attack as a “terrible tragedy.”
“My condolences to the loved ones of the victims. I gave orders to provide all necessary assistance to everyone who suffered during the incident,” Sobyanin said in a statement.
Sobyanin announced on Telegram that he would cancel all sports, cultural, and other public events in Moscow this weekend.
Shaman, the singer of the band Picnic, which was scheduled to play at the venue, stated that he would pay for the victims’ funerals as well as treatment for those injured.
“We are all one big family. And in a family, there is no such thing as somebody else’s grief”, the singer, known for his nationalistic views, said in a video posted on the Russian social media network Vkontakte to his more than 600,000 followers.
“My people, any troubles and misfortunes have always united our country. They have made Russia tougher and stronger. It will not be possible to frighten and break us this time either”, he said.