4 arrested in Moscow attack; toll climbs
Putin blames ‘international terrorism’
Russian authorities said Saturday they had arrested the four individuals suspected of carrying out a mass killing and arson at a suburban Moscow concert venue, which left at least 133 people dead and constituted one of the worst terrorist attacks to jolt Russia in President Vladimir Putin’s nearly quarter-century in power.
The Islamic State group has taken responsibility for the brutal assault in three different messages issued since Friday. But Putin, in his first public remarks on the tragedy more than 19 hours after the attack, made no mention of the extremist group, or the identities of the perpetrators, broadly blaming “international terrorism.”
The Russian leader did take a swipe at Ukraine, saying that the suspects were apprehended while traveling to the Russian border, where he alleged a crossing was being prepared for them from “the Ukrainian side.” Ukraine has denied any involvement in the attack.
Russian state news broadcasts similarly ignored or cast doubt on the Islamic State group attribution, and commentators focused on trying to blame Ukraine. As of Saturday, authorities had not disclosed the identities of the alleged gunmen.
But state news did show what it described as footage of interrogations of at least two of the suspects, including one who spoke in Tajik through an interpreter and another who said he carried out the killings for money after being recruited over the messaging app Telegram. Russia’s Interior Ministry said the four suspects were all foreign citizens.
In his video address, Putin said the four main perpetrators had been apprehended, as well as seven other individuals.
“The main thing now is to prevent those who were behind this bloody massacre from committing new crimes,” he said.
The Russian leader designated Sunday as a national day of mourning and vowed retribution against those who organized the attack.
“All perpetrators, organizers and commissioners of this crime will receive a just and inevitable punishment,” Putin said. “No matter who they are, no matter who directed them, I repeat, we will identify and punish everyone who stood behind the terrorists.”
By Saturday, the vast concert venue had been reduced to a heap of burned rubble, dust, and smoke after a mammoth fire engulfed the premises in the hours after the attack and pulled down the roof.
As emergency services workers continued to comb the scene, survivors gave harrowing accounts of their escapes.
“The panic was terrifying,” said Olya Muravyova, 38, who had been standing in line with her husband to buy a beer before the performance by Piknik, a Russian rock band formed in the late 1970s that was about to play at the venue when the attack occurred.
“We were in such a good mood,” she said Saturday, visiting the scene of the attack in the hopes of picking up her car. Suddenly, five minutes before the performance was set to start, she heard shots ring out.
“I thought maybe the band was making a dramatic entrance,” she said. But her husband told her to run and then to hide.
The names of some of the victims have also begun to emerge from officials and in local news reports. Most of those identified so far appeared to have been in their 40s, and many had traveled from other parts of the country to attend the concert.
Alexander Baklemishev, 51, had long dreamed about seeing the band, his son told local media, and had traveled from his home city of Satka, some 1,000 miles east of Moscow, to see them perform.
His son, Maksim, told the Russian news outlet MSK1 that his father had sent a video of the concert hall before the attack and that it was the last he had heard from him.
“There was no last conversation,” his son said. “All that was left is the video, and nothing more.”
Across the country, Russians placed flowers at makeshift memorials.
Many lined up in the capital to donate blood. Russian officials gave regular updates about the more than 100 people wounded in the attack, many of them in critical condition. Authorities warned that the death toll was likely to rise and said three children were among the dead.
US officials said the atrocity was the work of Islamic StateKhorosan, or ISIS-K, an offshoot of the group that has been active in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran.
The tragedy began Friday evening, when men in fatigues armed with automatic weapons stormed Crocus City Hall, situated in the Moscow suburb of Krasnogorsk.
First, they began shooting people, many at point-blank range. Then, the attackers used a flammable liquid to set fire to the premises of the large concert hall, according to Russia’s Investigative Committee, which said many of the victims perished after inhaling the toxic fumes.
In interviews with Russian media, some survivors recalled running out of the venue and trying to escape through a utility area, only to find the doors locked.
The attack represented a significant security failure for the Kremlin and came just days after Putin claimed victory in the presidential election.
For years, Putin has emphasized countering international terrorism as a top priority, but since invading Ukraine two years ago, he has pivoted to casting the West as the biggest foreign threat faced by Russians.
In recent weeks, Russian authorities had been warned about the possibility of a terrorist attack at a concert in Moscow.