At least 60 people were killed after armed members of “ISIS” broke into a concert hall in Moscow and opened fire on the crowd.
ISIS claimed responsibility for Friday night’s horrific massacre that left more than 100 injured, including children.
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A large fire broke out above Crocus City Hall in RussiaCredit: AP
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Footage shows gunmen storming the hallCredit: Pixel8000
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Huge plumes of smoke filled the sky as horrified onlookers fled Credit: Reuters
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Emergency services rushed to the scene as dozens were wounded in the attackCredit: Reuters
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Smoke could be seen from the hall in Moscow
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The visitors were trapped in the space
Russian authorities have launched a search for at least three terrorists who are on the run after the bloodshed.
In a statement on Telegram, the extremist group said “IS fighters attacked a large gathering” before they “safely retreated to their bases”.
A US official said US intelligence agencies had learned that the group’s Afghanistan branch was planning an attack in Moscow and had shared the information with Russian officials.
A crowd had gathered at a performance by the Russian rock band Picnic around 8 p.m. when masked attackers opened fire and threw explosives.
The chilling footage shows at least three people in camouflage clothing bursting into the Crocus Town Hall before shooting visitors with automatic weapons.
The attackers also used explosives, causing a large fire at a concert hall on the western edge of Moscow.
More than 60 people were killed and at least 100 injured, according to the FSB.
Russian Health Minister Mihail Murashko said at least 115 people were in hospital, including five children.
He added that 60 victims were in serious condition.
Vladimir Putin wished the victims a “speedy recovery” in a statement shared by Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova.
Meanwhile, hundreds were reportedly trapped in the burning building after part of the roof collapsed.
The authorities managed to evacuate 100 people who were hiding in the basement, and some of the attackers reportedly barricaded themselves inside.
The video shows huge clouds of black smoke rising above the building as some are rescued from the building’s roof.
A second explosion was reported at the scene, while panicked people were seen fleeing the scene amid fears the gunmen were holding several hostages.
The attackers allegedly left the underground parking lot and approached the building.
It is estimated that more than 6,000 people could have been in the hall because all the tickets were sold out.
Russian special services arrived at the scene, but the firefighters delayed putting out the fire until they arrived.
Prolonged shooting could be heard on several videos published by Russian media and Telegram channels.
One showed two men with rifles moving through a mall.
The second showed a man in the hall, who said the attackers had set it on fire, while continuous gunshots rang out in the background.
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The witness told RIA Novosti: “People in the hall laid down on the floor to avoid the shooting, they lay for 15-20 minutes, after which they started crawling.” Many managed to get away.”
Another said: “Look how it’s burning. There are people inside”.
Shots rang out simultaneously in the auditorium and in the lobby, witnesses told local media.
Masked attackers set the chairs on fire, causing flames to spread throughout the building, reports said.
One witness said: “At first nothing was announced. 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. We have just taken our seats [when the shooting started].
“It was literally 8:00 p.m., 8:05 or 8:10. It was fired from afar, from above.
“We sat in the very top row. In the beginning everything was ok, somehow it was unclear what it was.
“That’s when we realized something was wrong when we noticed that note-takers with these walkie-talkies started running from top to bottom.
“The shooting started again, we heard it from above, we were sitting, then we heard it, we went all the way downstairs, we realized that they were shooting downstairs as well.
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Police cordoned off the scene after the fatal shootingCredit: Reuters
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Smoke can be seen rising into the sky after the attackCredit: Reuters
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Hundreds were reported injured after gunmen opened fire on the crowdCredit: Reuters
“We lay down, in the middle, that is, somewhere on the floor, then we realized that all the people were going upstairs and we went upstairs.
“In the end, we came out on top somewhere. We started going down the escalator. In short, we hid.
“They were shooting from all sides, from everyone.
“We were lying there, and then we noticed that people were kind of running down the escalators. We ran after them. There was a girl lying there.”
An anonymous eyewitness told the BBC that many children were performing in a dance competition when the shooting began.
“There were children and teenagers at the competition. People came and said that there was a shooting. There was a crowd. The children ran out in their dancing dresses,” they said.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin called the attack a “terrible tragedy” and said all public events, including sports and culture, would be canceled in Moscow this weekend.
He said: “A terrible tragedy occurred today at Crocus City Mall.
“My condolences to the loved ones of the victims.”
He gave the order to provide all the necessary help to all those who died during the incident.
Andrei Vorobyov, the governor of the Moscow region, said he was going to the area and setting up a task force to deal with the damage.
The Russian National Guard is now looking for the assailants, whose identities have not yet been established.
President Putin also receives regular updates, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
He said: “Vladimir Putin was informed of the start of the shooting in the first minutes of what happened at Crocus City Hall.”
An adviser to the Ukrainian president, Mykhailo Podolyak, said on Friday that Kiev had nothing to do with the attack.
In a video message posted on Telegram, Podolyak said: “Let’s be honest: Ukraine has absolutely nothing to do with these events.
“We have an all-out war with the regular Russian army and the Russian Federation as a country.
And no matter what, everything will be decided on the battlefield.
In a separate Telegram message, the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry accused Russian secret services of planning the deadly attack.
“The terrorist attack in Moscow was a planned and deliberate provocation by Russian special services at the behest of (Vladimir) Putin,” the service said, adding that the goal was to “further escalate and expand the war” with Ukraine.
Opened in October 2009, Crocus City Hall is located in Krasnogorsk city settlement of Krasnogorsky district.
The US and UK embassies warned two weeks ago of such an attack in a crowded venue by “extremists”.
They suggested it would be earlier, but warned foreign nationals to stay away from busy areas.
Crocus City is about 14 miles northwest of the Kremlin, and people were there for a concert by Picnic, a Soviet-era rock band.
The US previously warned: “The embassy is monitoring reports that extremists have immediate plans to target large gatherings in Moscow, including concerts, and US citizens should be advised to avoid large gatherings.”
They suggested that such an atrocity could happen in the next 48 hours, but nothing happened – until now.
People were told to avoid crowds, monitor local media for updates and be aware of their surroundings.
The British Embassy followed with a similar warning.
Other public places in Moscow and Saint Petersburg were evacuated.
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The attackers reportedly also used explosives in the attack
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The video shows flames engulfing the building
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