At least 133 killed and more than 140 injured in Moscow concert attack, says Russia
At least 133 people, including three children, were killed and more than 140 wounded in an attack on a packed Moscow concert hall, Russian authorities said on Saturday.
A group of gunmen dressed in combat gear stormed the Crocus City Hall in the west of the Russian capital and sprayed crowds with gunfire on Friday, leaving the venue smouldering with a collapsed roof.
Announcing a day of mourning for 24 March, Vladimir Putin said all four assailants had been arrested.
Russia's president claimed the suspects were trying to flee to Ukraine, while Kyiv said allegations of Ukrainian involvement are "absurd".
The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the bloodbath in a social media post.
AP news agency reported that US intelligence had learned the terror group's branch in Afghanistan was planning an attack in Moscow, sharing this information with Russian officials.
In a speech on Saturday, Putin said: "The criminals were coldblooded and purposefully going to kill, shoot our citizens and our children at point-blank range.
"They tried to hide and moved towards Ukraine, where, according to preliminary data, a window was prepared for them from the Ukrainian side to cross the state border.
"Whoever they are, whoever is guiding them. I repeat: we will identify and punish everyone who stands behind the terrorists," he added.
Kyiv has strongly denied any involvement, concerned that Moscow will use the attack to escalate the war.
"Ukraine certainly has nothing to do with the shooting/explosions in the Crocus City Hall (Moscow Region, Russia)," wrote Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the Ukrainian president on X. "It makes no sense whatsoever."
"Everything in this war will be decided only on the battlefield...Terrorist attacks do not solve any problems," he continued.
The assault occurred just days after Putin cemented his grip on the country in a highly orchestrated electoral landslide.
Some commentators on Russian social media questioned how authorities, who relentlessly surveil and pressure Kremlin critics, failed to identify the threat and prevent the grisly assault.
According to Interfax, a group of men began shooting both at the building's entrance and within the hall, where numerous attendees were present for a "Picnic" rock group concert. The band were unharmed.
Videos recorded by eyewitnesses audibly captured the machine gun fire, while others show men shooting screaming people at point-blank range.
“There were volleys of gunfire,” Dave Primov, who was in the hall during the attack, told AP. “We all got up and tried to move toward the aisles. People began to panic, started to run and collided with each other. Some fell down and others trampled on them.”
News reports said that the assailants threw explosives, which sparked a massive blaze in the concert hall and caused the roof to collapse.
The casualty count from the incident has continued to rise throughout Saturday morning, with the Investigative Committee detailing that 133 people were killed.
Health authorities released a list of 145 injured - 115 of them hospitalised, including five children.
People around the world have paid tribute to the victims of the attack, laying flowers outside of embassies in several countries.
Video posted on social media of the attack showed huge plumes of black smoke rising over the building, which can accommodate up to 6,200 people.
Russian authorities said security has been tightened at Moscow’s airports and railway stations.
Following the deadly armed assault, Moscow's Mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced the cancellation of all public events scheduled for the weekend in the city.
Belarusian leader Aleksandr Lukashenko, in a message to Putin, vehemently denounced the “brutal murder of innocent people,” a sentiment echoed by Kazakh President Tokayev, who also offered support to Russian law enforcement.
Western leaders have echoed condemnation of the attack, the deadliest in Russia in two decades.
IS claims responsibility
In a statement, the Islamic State (IS) group said it attacked a large gathering of “Christians” in Krasnogorsk on Moscow’s outskirts, killing and wounding hundreds.
US intelligence officials confirmed IS's claim to AP, telling the news agency they had gathered information of a looming attack in recent weeks and shared this with Russian authorities.
In October 2015, a bomb planted by IS downed a Russian passenger plane over Sinai, killing all 224 people on board - mostly Russian holidaymakers.
The group, which operates in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Africa, has claimed several attacks in Russia’s volatile Caucasus and other regions in the past years. It recruited fighters from Russia and other parts of the former Soviet Union.
The White House offered its sympathies to the victims and their families in light of the attack.