Several gunmen opened fire at a popular concert venue on the outskirts of Moscow on Friday, killing at least 40 people and wounding more than 100, Russia’s top security agency said, according to state news agencies.
Several gunmen opened fire at a popular concert venue on the outskirts of Moscow on Friday, killing at least 40 people and wounding more than 100, Russia’s top security agency said, according to state news agencies.
More than one-third of the building, which hosts one of the largest and most popular concert halls in Moscow, was on fire Friday night, according to Tass, as emergency services tried to rescue people from its roof.
Three helicopters were dispatched to the scene, the agency reported. An explosion was reported at 9:32 p.m., and RIA Novosti, a state news agency, reported that the fire had intensified. The roof near the stage was collapsing around 10 p.m., RIA Novosti reported.
There was no report of who might be responsible for the attack, but state media agencies reported that there were up to five perpetrators. Russia’s Investigative Committee, the country’s equivalent to the FBI, said it had opened a criminal case into a terrorist act and dispatched its investigators to the scene.
Emergency services said more than 100 people had already been evacuated from the building.
Videos verified by The New York Times show multiple people holding guns entering Crocus City Hall, a shopping mall and concert venue in Krasnogorsk, a suburb on the northwestern outskirts of Moscow.
