Kremlin Says 40 Killed, 100+ Wounded In Attack On Moscow Concert Hall

MOSCOW (AP) — Several gunmen burst into a large concert hall on the edge of Moscow on Friday and sprayed visitors with automatic gunfire, killing at least 40 and injuring 100 others in an attack that came just days after President Vladimir Putin cemented his grip on the country in a highly orchestrated electoral landslide.

There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the raid, which Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin described as a “huge tragedy” and which state authorities were investigating as an act of terrorism. It was the deadliest attack in Russia in years and came as the country’s war in Ukraine dragged into a third year.

Russia’s Federal Security Service, the main domestic security and counter-terrorism agency, said 40 people were killed and more than 100 were wounded in the attack at Crocus City Hall, a large music venue on Moscow’s western edge.

Russian news reports said that the assailants threw explosives, triggering the massive blaze at the hall, which can accommodate 6,000. Video from outside showed the building on fire, with a huge cloud of smoke rising through the night sky. The street was lit up by the blinking blue lights of dozens of firetrucks, ambulances and other emergency vehicles.

The attack took place as crowds gathered for performance by Picnic, a famous Russian rock band. Russian news reports said concertgoers were being evacuated, but that an unknown number could have been trapped by the blaze.

The prosecutor’s office said several men in combat fatigues entered the concert hall and fired on concertgoers.

Extended rounds of gunfire could be heard in videos posted by Russian media and on Telegram channels. One showed two men with rifles moving through the venue. Another showed a man inside the