Dozens killed in attack on Moscow concert venue

Around 60 individuals lost their lives and over 100 sustained injuries when assailants fired shots at a vast concert venue in Moscow on Friday night. A fire also erupted in the building, causing further devastation.

According to a Ria state news agency journalist who witnessed the event, a group of men dressed in camouflage attire, consisting of at least four individuals, stormed into the Crocus City Hall concert venue on the outskirts of Moscow. The venue was set to host a performance by a band known as Picnic.

The attack involved a large-scale shooting and resulted in the highest number of casualties in a terrorist attack in Russia in the last ten years. It brought to mind the previous Islamist uprisings that took place during the initial ten years of President Vladimir Putin's administration.

The crimes division of Russia, called the Investigative Committee, has reported that the attack resulted in the death of over 60 individuals, with the possibility of the number increasing in the future.

The national guard of Russia declared that they are currently conducting a search for the perpetrators. According to RIA Novosti, the attackers departed the location in a white Renault.

Late at night, the Kremlin made an announcement stating that Putin was briefed by the leaders of four security agencies in Russia about the progress of the investigation on the attack. Additionally, officials responsible for aiding the victims also provided reports to Putin.

In previous statements, Kremlin representative Dmitry Peskov informed journalists that the head of state was made aware of the attack at the start and received continuous updates from appropriate authorities on the measures being taken. The Interfax news agency reported that the president was constantly receiving information on the events and had given instructions deemed necessary.

Telegram's news accounts shared gruesome videos that seemed to capture unidentified individuals killing various people. Moreover, these news outlets mentioned death counts that had not been properly verified, and depicted numbers several times higher than those officially announced by the FSB.

Footage captured from the exterior of the edifice depicted a colossal fire consuming the top of the structure, resulting in a plume of smoke ascending into the dark evening atmosphere.

The assault was classified as a terrorist act by officials. A few of them conjectured that Ukraine, the nation that underwent a complete invasion by Russia a couple of years ago, might be at fault. No proofs were given to support the claim. Kyiv quickly rebutted any accusations of wrongdoing.

According to a US representative, there is no reason to question the statement made by the terrorist group, Isis, claiming responsibility for the attack. The FSB reported that they discovered and dismantled an Isis group in Kaluga, a southwest city in Moscow.

The Mayor of Moscow, Sergey Sobyanin, referred to an awful disaster that had occurred in the area and decided to cancel major communal gatherings scheduled for this weekend in the Russian capital. Moreover, individuals were forced to leave sizeable shopping centers in several other Russian regions on the evening of Friday in anticipation of comparable attacks.

The Moscow-based US embassy expressed their deep dismay upon hearing about the incident, and extended their heartfelt sympathies to the people of Russia.

Russia experienced a series of terrifying attacks in the 90s and 2000s, with most revolving around two violent separatist wars in the southern region of Chechnya. These events played a significant role in Putin's ascent to power.

The recent attack on Friday will trigger recollections among the people of Moscow of the Nord-Ost siege occurrence. It happened in the year 2002, when Chechen militants held hundreds of individuals as hostages in a Moscow theater. The incident resulted in the killing of over 170 people.

Following the successful suppression by Putin's security forces of Islamist uprisings in Chechnya and nearby Dagestan, significant attacks have significantly declined within the last ten years, with the last one occurring in 2017 when a suicide bombing in St Petersburg's subway killed 15 people.

At the start of this month, the United States government acquired knowledge of a likely terrorist assault in Moscow, which may have focused on significant assemblies. As a result, the state department publicly alerted Americans residing in Russia. Additionally, the US disclosed this intelligence to the Russian government, following its established practice of warning, as stated by National Security Council spokesperson, Adrienne Watson.

Missions from six different countries located in the western part of the world gave out alerts at the beginning of March, which cautioned people about potential attacks at public locations such as concerts. The warning was for events that could occur within the following 48 hours.

During his address to Russia's FSB security service this Tuesday, Putin brushed off what he characterized as "provocative remarks" coming from the western embassies.

Putin, who recently secured his position as ruler for another decade after the recent presidential elections, expressed his strong disapproval of the malicious tactics employed to intimidate and destabilize our society. He likened these methods to blatant blackmail, which is completely unacceptable.

On social media originating from Russia, various videos depicted individuals wielding automatic firearms inside a venue's lobby after an attack. These armed individuals proceeded to herd screaming individuals towards a corner, before executing several of them from close range.

In the lobby, there were individuals lying down on the ground as if they had been hit by gunfire.

A different video captured by someone who attended the concert revealed that some chairs caught on fire inside the venue. As a result, the attendees attempted to run away while gunfire erupted and the area became filled with smoke.

According to RBC magazine, a person who attended the concert said that they were in the lobby when they suddenly heard the sound of machine guns. This caused a commotion and people began to flee through the service entrance. There was a lot of chaos and pushing and once they were outside, they could hear the machine guns once again.

According to the state media, the building was raided by the FSB and Russia's national guard, where the attackers were taking shelter. Emergency helicopters were caught on tape hovering over the burning roof.

The Crocus City Hall is situated on the outskirts of the Russian capital city and is a sizable site for concerts, adjacent to a convention center bearing its name, which frequently arranges assemblies and other gatherings.

The auditorium has a capacity of 6,200 individuals. All the passes for the Picnic show, a classic Russian rock group that started out in 1978, have been bought.