As of: March 23, 2024, 2:26 p.m
By: Michelle Brey
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Press
Split
A terrorist attack was carried out on a concert hall in Moscow on Friday evening.
A number of people die.
Survivors share moments of horror.
Moscow - Listen to music, experience carefree hours: That's why many people came to Crocus City Hall on Friday.
The evening ended with a terrorist attack for which the jihadist militia Islamic State claimed responsibility.
The Russian rock group Piknik was scheduled to give a concert in the concert hall on the outskirts of Moscow.
But a few minutes before the show began, several gunmen entered and opened fire.
They left behind a number of dead and injured people and a building that was ablaze.
Eyewitnesses reported the horrific scenes they witnessed.
Attack on Crocus City Hall in Moscow – concert goer describes moments of the attack
“I sat in the hall on the first floor where the balconies are.
We heard shots,” said a young man in an interview with
NTV
.
At first he didn't understand what was happening.
“Then I saw the terrorists come in and start shooting at everyone,” he said, describing his perceptions.
The attackers then threw a Molotov cocktail and set everything on fire.
Crocus City Hall was ablaze.
An attack was carried out on Crocus City Hall on Friday.
Numerous emergency services arrived.
© Cao Yang/dpa
Channels on the online service Telegram that are considered close to the security authorities published videos showing at least two armed men advancing into the hall.
In others you can see corpses and people rushing to the exit.
Additional footage shows concertgoers hiding behind seats.
Photos are also said to show some of the attackers - the number of which is initially unclear - standing on bleachers and shooting into the depths from there.
Shots in Moscow: Attackers attack people in a concert hall and set buildings on fire
Shortly before the concert began, people heard “suddenly several machine gun volleys and the terrible scream of a woman,” “then a lot of screams,” visitor and music producer Alexei reported to
AFP
.
He was in a box at the time of the attack.
A mass panic then broke out.
Together with other people on site, he barricaded himself and then tried to get outside as quickly as possible.
On the way, Alexei said, he saw “smoke and ash” in one of the rooms before he reached the exit.
“They shoot.
They shoot machine guns.
Some people are shooting,” a man’s excited voice can be heard in a shaky video circulating on social media.
“There were no slogans.
“Just shots”: Eyewitness reports on scenes of the terrorist attack in Moscow
The alleged perpetrators had “already shot at people indiscriminately in the entrance area,” as
NTV
reporter Rainer Munz reported from Russia in the evening.
“There were no slogans.
Just shots – that’s all,” an eyewitness is said to have said in a Telegram video, according to the
Berliner Zeitung
.
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The Crocus City Hall has several event halls that are also used for trade fairs.
It is one of the most popular leisure spots for Muscovites and those living in the surrounding areas of the Russian capital.
According to authorities, theaters and museums in Moscow will remain closed over the weekend following the attack.
Major events have been canceled - and security precautions are also being increased in other cities.
Meanwhile, the investigation is ongoing.
Eleven people are said to have been arrested.
An interrogation video recently revealed new details about the attack.
(mbr/dpa/AFP)