This article is continually updated
In Russia, 40 people were killed in a suspected terrorist attack on a concert hall near Moscow. This was reported by the Russian domestic secret service FSB. According to initial findings, more than 100 people were injured in the Crocus City Hall, the authority was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency on Friday evening.
Unidentified people wearing camouflage clothing stormed the hall shortly before the start of a concert in the city of Krasnogorsk, northwest of Moscow, and opened fire, the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office said. The RIA news agency reported that there were at least three people involved. A news agency reporter on site spoke of injuries from “automatic gunfire.” Interfax reported that two to five attackers attacked the concert hall where the Russian rock group Piknik was giving a concert. According to the state news agency Tass, special units of the Russian National Guard are at the scene.
Russia’s Central Investigative Committee has opened a case into a suspected terrorist act. The authority announced this on the Telegram messaging service. “All necessary measures” will be taken, the state news agency Interfax quoted the FSB as saying.
According to Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, there were several deaths. On Friday evening he spoke of a “terrible tragedy” without giving an exact number of victims. The victims are said to be both employees and visitors to Crocus City Hall. It was said that there were still people in the concert hall.
Tass also reported an explosion in the hall where a fire had broken out. The agency released footage of a large fire on Friday evening. The place is being evacuated. According to the news agency, people are trapped in the burning hall. Around 100 people could reportedly be trapped in the burning house. The fire spread to about a third of the building and almost the entire roof.
According to Tass, there are still people on the roof of the burning hall. The RIA agency reports that around 100 people were brought to safety from the basement.
Information on the background to the incident was initially unclear. The Russian ombudswoman Tatyana Moskalkova spoke of a “terrorist attack”. The Russian Foreign Ministry called the attack a “bloody terrorist attack.” “The entire global community must condemn this despicable crime,” wrote ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on the Telegram online service on Friday evening. Western embassies recently warned of terrorist attacks in Moscow. The Kremlin described this as a provocation by the West.
The mayor of Moscow canceled all major events over the weekend. He asked for your understanding of the measure. According to the Tass news agency, security precautions at the capital’s airports and train stations are being strengthened.
The US said that from its perspective there are “currently no indications” that Ukraine was involved in the incident. “There is currently no indication that Ukraine or Ukrainians are involved in the firearms attack,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Friday. “I would advise you against establishing any connection with Ukraine at such an early stage,” he added.
A spokesman for the Ukrainian secret service called the events in Moscow a “deliberate provocation” by Russian special forces. This is reported by the Ukrainian media Pravda.
