A shootout followed by a huge fire. This is for the moment what we know about the attack on a concert hall in the suburbs of Moscow, the precise facts of which still remain to be clarified, but which caused “deaths” according to the mayor of the Russian capital. L’Express takes stock of the situation in Moscow, while Russian diplomacy speaks of a “bloody terrorist attack”.
An attack during a rock concert
The attack took place at Crocus City Hall, a concert venue in Krasnogorsk, a suburb just outside the northwest exit of the Russian capital. “Unknown persons opened fire at Crocus City Hall. The evacuation of people is underway,” emergency services told the state agency TASS. The latter also added that this attack occurred during a concert by the Russian rock group Piknik, whose members were evacuated.
“A hundred people were evacuated from the basement of the building by firefighters. Work is underway to save people from the roof of the building using lifting equipment,” the Ministry of Defense said. Emergency situations of the Moscow region on Telegram.
Injuries and deaths
The state agency Ria Novosti reported “wounded” after “automatic weapon fire”, citing its journalist on site. According to him, people in camouflage clothing burst onto the floor of the room before opening fire and throwing “a grenade or an incendiary bomb, which caused a fire”. “The people in the room lay down on the ground to protect themselves from the gunfire for 15 to 20 minutes, after which they began to crawl out. Many managed to get out,” said this Ria journalist. Novosti, according to which “there are injured, that’s for sure”. According to him, members of the police arrived on the scene. The TASS agency reported earlier that the police rapid intervention unit SOBR and the riot police OMON had been “put on alert and were heading towards the site”. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.
The mayor of Moscow, Sergei Sobyanin, reported deaths in the shooting. “A terrible tragedy occurred today in Crocus City. I extend my condolences to the loved ones of the deceased,” he said. The latter also announced canceling all public events in the Russian capital this weekend.
The Telegram news channels Baza and Mash, known to be close to the police, published videos showing large plumes of black smoke and flames escaping from the building housing the concert hall, as well as images showing two armed men advancing down the hall, with at least one man visible on the ground near the entrance. Other images show spectators hiding behind seats or evacuating the concert hall.
Russian diplomacy denounces “a terrorist attack”
Russian diplomacy denounced a “bloody terrorist attack”. “The entire world community must condemn this heinous crime!” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova added on Telegram. The Russian security services (FSB) initially spoke of “an attack” causing deaths and injuries.
For its part, the White House said it was “in thoughts with the victims of the terrible attack”, declared its spokesperson John Kirby, who described “horrible and difficult to watch images”. “I cannot give more details,” he added, assuring that the United States was seeking “to obtain more information”, while declaring that the White House had “no indication at this stage” of possible Ukrainian involvement in the attack.