MOSCOW CONCERT HALL SHOOTING LEAVES AT LEAST 40 DEAD AND MORE THAN 100 INJURED

Fri 22 March 2024:

40 people were killed and over 100 were injured when gunmen stormed into a large concert hall in Moscow and opened fire with automatic weapons, according to Russia’s official news agency TASS, which cited the Federal Security Service (FSB).

The attackers reportedly used explosives as well, setting off a big fire at the Crocus City Hall on the western outskirts of Moscow on Friday, according to Russian news reports.

Several of the injured have reportedly already been admitted to hospitals, according to Russia’s Ministry of Health.

Russian media reported that three to five people in combat fatigues had fired weapons into the crowd who were attending a concert of the rock band “Picnic”.

A journalist for the RIA Novosti news agency who was at the scene said the gunmen opened automatic fire and threw a grenade or incendiary bomb. Fire quickly spread through the concert hall.

“People who were in the hall were led on the ground to protect themselves from the shooting for 15 or 20 minutes,” the journalist was quoted as saying.

People started crawling out when it was safe, the journalist reported, adding that security forces were at the scene.

Russian rescue services have evacuated about 100 people from the basement of the Crocus City Hall, but there are still people on the roof, Russian news agencies reported.

President Vladimir Putin is receiving continuous updates about the situation, his spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

“The president is constantly being informed by all relevant services about what is happening and the measures being taken,” Peskov told Russian news agencies.

Russia’s ombudsman, Moskalkova, called the shooting an “act of terrorism”, according to RIA Novosti, while Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced the cancellation of all public events planned this weekend in the Russian capital.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova called on the international community to condemn the incident, calling it “a monstrous crime”.

The White House said that the images of shooting in the Russian capital were “horrible and just hard to watch.”

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev wrote on the Telegram app that if those responsible for the attack turn out to be Ukrainian, “all of them must be found and ruthlessly destroyed as terrorists”.

Zakharova responded to the White House’s comments about Ukraine’s non-involvement by asking, “On what basis do officials in Washington draw any conclusions in the midst of a tragedy about someone’s innocence?”

She said that if Washington had information, it should be shared and that if Washington had no information, it should not be talking in such a way.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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