At least three people in camouflage opened fire at the Crocus City Hall concert venue near Moscow on Friday, a Sputnik correspondent reported.
More than 100 people were injured in the shooting, while the concert hall caught fire, according to the correspondent.
"At least three people in camouflage burst into the ground floor of Crocus City Hall and opened fire with automatic weapons. There are definitely wounded," the correspondent said. "After that [the gunmen] threw a grenade or an incendiary bomb, which started a fire."
"People in the hall laid down on the ground to avoid the fire, laying there for about 15-20 minutes, after which they began to crawl out. Many managed to get out," the correspondent said.
Reports appear on social media about an explosion in the Crocus City Hall building in Moscow. pic.twitter.com/N1KATRCbRC
— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) March 22, 2024
Law enforcement has arrived and are working at the scene. Local authorities said that "all forces and means have been directed to the scene of the incident," and that "information about victims is being confirmed."
The Emergencies Ministry said about a hundred people have been evacuated from the venue's basement.
Moscow Region governor Andrei Vorobyov is on route to the scene of the emergency, and an operational headquarters has been created. Moscow Mayor has ordered authorities to provide "all necessary assistance," and expressed "condolences to the relatives of the victims."
Members of the musical group Piknik, at whose concert the shooting occurred, were not injured, the director of the show told Sputnik.
Moscow's Department of Transit said the nearby Myakinino metro station is operating as normal, but said that vehicular traffic in and out of the area has been complicated by traffic jams.
❗️The shooting occurred in the Crocus City Hall in Moscow, at least 3 people in camouflage opened fire. Some people are wounded, Sputnik correspondent reports.
— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) March 22, 2024
Video from social media. pic.twitter.com/kg5V1jndMG
A White House spokesperson said the United States is aware of the reports of the mass shooting in Moscow, and considers footage from the scene "terrifying." The US Embassy in Moscow and those of other NATO countries have spent the past several weeks warning of a heightened risk of terror attacks in Moscow and other Russian regions, and urging American nationals to avoid traveling to Russia.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has urged the international community to condemn incident at Crocus City Hall, which it characterized as a "terror attack."
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