PNN – It was around 20:28 Moscow time on the evening of Friday, the third of April, when official Russian news sources reported the shooting in the Crocus City Hall in the night in suburbs of the country’s capital.
This terrorist attack occurred five days after the official announcement of the victory of Russian President Vladimir Putin in the eighth presidential election of this country. Putin participated in the celebration of the 10th anniversary of Crimea’s accession to Russia on Red Square in Moscow.
The terrorist attack on a concert venue with a capacity of 9,500 people in the suburbs of Moscow took place hours after the massive and retaliatory attack by the Russian armed forces on military positions and some energy infrastructures of Ukraine.
The official narrative
The Russian news agency Tass first reported that unknown people fired at the city hall of Crocus, and that people were evacuating.
Citizens traveling in the city of Moscow at that time, the continuous sound and simultaneous movement of ambulances and rescue vehicles towards the Krokus area was indicative of a special event in this area.
Dmitri Peskov, the spokesman of the Russian President’s office, told reporters an hour later: Vladimir Putin was informed of this terrorist attack in the first minutes of this incident. He continuously receives information through all relevant departments. According to him, Putin has given “all the necessary orders”.
In response to this terrorist attack, Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, wrote on his Telegram channel: Death for death.
He added: All the culprits of this incident should be found and they should be brutally destroyed as terrorists.
Meanwhile, one of the officials of the State Duma (lower house) of Russia demanded to review a plan aimed at determining the death penalty for the perpetrators of this terrorist incident.
The narration of eyewitnesses
As eyewitnesses have narrated, this terrorist attack took place about half an hour before the news was published in the official Russian media.
Sputnik’s reporter said: Between the second and third sessions, a few minutes before 20:00 Moscow time, before the start of the concert, at least three men with camouflage and no masks entered the hall through the booths. They shot people and threw firebombs. The people who managed to leave the hall were directed to the emergency exits by the guards of the complex.
One of the injured in the accident, who was admitted to the Sklifusovsky Research Hospital, said: “Several injured people managed to take shelter in the bathroom and people helped each other so that more people could escape.”
Olga, one of the other eyewitnesses, told the TASS news agency: We heard the sounds of machine gun fire and saw how people suddenly ran into the hall from the foyer, realized that their decision was wrong and ran out of the hall.
Alexey also said: I entered the hall when the shooting had just started, I saw people running away and screaming. There was a shooting, as I understood, they shot from a machine gun. I did not understand how many people there were, but my friend who was there said that the perpetrators of this attack were how many people.
Official report
Russia’s Federal Security Service announced an hour later that a shooting and fire broke out before a concert at the Crocus City Hall in the Krasnogorsk region, northwest of Moscow.
An hour after the announcement of the security authority of this country, the Ministry of Health of Russia announced the list of 146 injured in the incident, among whom five children were seen. According to this report, the condition of one child and 60 other injured was reported to be critical. More than 30 people were treated on an outpatient basis.
The Investigative Committee of Russia also reported that a criminal case was opened in connection with a terrorist attack.
Meanwhile, it has been reposted on Russian social media that police are looking for a white Renault Logan car in connection with the terrorist attack in Crocus City Hall.
Explosion and fire
The gunmen’s shooting did not stop killing and injuring people, and smoke and flames were seen above the Krokos City Hall, and with the passage of time, the extent of the fire increased.
According to reports, about a third of the seven-story building was burnt. The Ministry of Emergencies of Russia announced the area of ​​the fire in Crocus City Hall as 12,900 square meters and reported that it was contained about four hours after the incident.
Firefighters tried to evacuate citizens from the building even from the roof. At least 100 people were evacuated from the scene.
In this situation, the Russian Aviation Organization intervened to extinguish the fire. Four helicopters were actively involved in the firefighting operation in Crocus.
More than 30 regional ambulance teams and 20 city ambulance teams were sent to Crocus City Hall.
Despite the efforts, the roof of Crocus City Hall was completely engulfed in flames and a partial collapse of the roof was also reported. The smell of burning can be felt in nearby areas.
Sympathy from urban displays to calls for blood donations
The presence of the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Health of Russia in the control center for the aid to the victims of the Crocus accident in Moscow was one of the significant points in the immediate handling of this emergency situation. More than 70 ambulance and medical service teams are working at the scene of the accident.
An image of a candle with the words “we mourn” underneath it appeared on a billboard near Crocus City Hall.
In the meantime, the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia introduced a telephone line for psychological counseling to citizens.
It was at this time that the residents of Moscow were asked to donate blood to help save the injured.
The Russian Social Fund announced that it had created a working group to provide immediate support measures to the victims of the incident.
The exit of the Moscow Ring Road was also blocked in the accident area.
Moscow Internet Taxi (Yandex) made all trips from the Crocus City Hall area free for passengers.
Following the shooting incident at tonight’s concert in Moscow, Russian news agencies blacked out their logos in a coordinated and very quick manner.
Mobile phone operators Beeline, MTS and Tele2 reduced the cost of calling emergency lines and emergency services to zero in connection with an emergency situation in Crocus City Hall.
Actions and measures
Following this incident, security measures at Moscow’s airports and train stations have been strengthened and all public events in Moscow and the Moscow region have been cancelled.
Emergency-level security measures were strengthened in several regions of the Russian Federation, including Moscow Region, Luhansk, Dagestan, North Ossetia, Tula Region, and Nenets Autonomous Region.
Restaurants in the city center of St. Petersburg were also closed at the request of the police after the terrorist attack on the outskirts of Moscow.
The governor of St. Petersburg also announced: “As a sign of solidarity with the victims and sympathy for the grief of those who were killed in the Moscow region, we have decided to cancel all entertainment events in St. Petersburg next weekend.” The president of Chechnya spoke of measures taken by other regions of Russia where most of the population is Muslim to express sympathy for the victims of this incident.
The Ministry of Culture of Russia announced: Mass events and entertainment in federal cultural institutions will be canceled for the next few days.
Iran’s sympathy
Following the occurrence of this terrorist incident, Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian condemned this incident by publishing a tweet on X social network. In this message, it is stated: I strongly condemn the recent terrorist act in the city of Moscow, while expressing my sympathy to the families of the deceased, I offer my condolences to my colleague Sergey Lavrov, the government and the people of Russia for this tragic incident.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran emphasized: the joint and effective fight against terrorism requires serious and non-discriminatory action by the international community.
The spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of our country strongly condemned the bloody and brutal terrorist attack on a commercial center in Moscow, which resulted in the death and injury of a large number of Russian citizens.
Nasser Kanani expressed his condolences to the Russian government and nation, especially the families of the victims, and said that the Islamic Republic of Iran stands with Russia in this tragic incident.
The ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Russian Federation expressed his condolences to the nation and government of this country and condemned such actions.
Kazem Jalali said in this message: While condemning such barbaric actions, I wish peace to the deceased and patience to their survivors.
Moscow Islamic Center, one of Iran’s cultural institutions, while expressing sympathy with the Russian people following the terrorist attack on the Crocus Hall, announced that the rituals of this center, especially during the holy month of Ramadan, are closed on Saturdays and Sundays.