EconomistApopular moscow concert hall turned into a hellish crime scene on the evening of March 22nd when a group of masked gunmen armed with automatic rifles opened fire on crowds at a rock gig. Footage from Crocus City Hall showed at least four men shooting at unarmed people before entering the foyer area leading to the auditorium.
State media reported that Russian special forces had begun to storm the building, just as a steady stream of dead and injured were being taken from it. By the following day, the authorities were saying that at least 133 people died, either from gunshots or because of a fire that swept parts of the building after the assailants threw a grenade or incendiary. Many more have been wounded. The Russian authorities have said that the gunmen initially fled, but have since been apprehended.
The first news of a developing incident came at around 8.30pm local time on Friday night, when police and emergency services responded to a red alert at the venue. Over the next hour two separate explosions were heard, enveloping the complex in smoke and fire, and reportedly trapping hundreds of people inside. According to witnesses quoted by state media, the gunmen opened fire on latecomers as they queued for entry to the hall. Some survived by hiding in toilets and punching holes through to communication shafts.
“We literally jumped over corpses to escape,” a woman identified as Polina L told 112, a social-media channel closely connected to Russian law enforcement. “People ran, and they hid...We hitched a ride a couple of kilometres away, so afraid were we that they would also shoot on the street.”
Within hours of the attack Islamic State had issued a statement claiming responsibility. That claim was impossible to verify. However American officials told several news outlets that they indeed thought the terrorist group was to blame. The incident came two weeks after warnings from Western embassies of an impending terrorist attack in Moscow, advising citizens to avoid large gatherings. On the same day as those warnings, Russia’s security services announced that they had foiled an attack on a synagogue. On March 9th two Kazakh citizens were reportedly killed in a shoot-out with anti-terrorism officers.