Crocus City Music Hall: At least 40 dead after gunmen launch 'terror' attack at Moscow concert hall in Russia

At least 40 people have died and 100 others have been injured after several gunmen burst into a large concert hall on the edge of Moscow and sprayed visitors with automatic gunfire in an apparent terror attack, described as the 'worst' in two decades as the war with Ukraine drags into a third year.

There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the raid, but it comes days after President Vladimir Putin cemented his grip on the country in a highly orchestrated electoral landslide. Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin described the attack as a “huge tragedy”. Russia’s top domestic security agency, the Federal Security Service, said there are dead and wounded but did not give any numbers.

Russian news reports said that the assailants threw explosives, triggering a massive blaze at the Crocus City Hall on the western edge of Moscow. Video posted on social media showed huge plumes of black smoke rising over the building.

The attack took place as crowds gathered for a concert of Picnic, a famed Russian rock band, at the hall that can accommodate more than 6,000 people. Russian news reports said that visitors were being evacuated, but some said that an unspecified number of people could have been trapped by the blaze.

The prosecutor’s office said several men in combat fatigues entered the concert hall and fired at visitors. Extended rounds of gunfire could be heard on multiple videos posted by Russian media and Telegram channels. One showed two men with rifles moving through the mall.

Another one showed a man inside the auditorium, telling the assailants to set it on fire, as gunshots rang out incessantly in the background. More videos showed up to four attackers, armed with assault rifles and wearing caps, who were shooting screaming people at point-blank range.

Andrei Vorobyov, the governor of the Moscow region, said he was heading to the area and had set up a task force to deal with the damage.

White House national security adviser John Kirby said he could not yet speak about all the details but that “the images are just horrible. And just hard to watch Our thoughts are going to be with the victims of this terrible, terrible shooting attack. There are some moms and dads and brothers and sisters and sons and daughters who haven’t gotten the news yet. This is going to be a tough day.”

The attack followed a statement issued earlier this month by the US embassy in Moscow that urged Americans to avoid crowded places in the Russian capital in view of an imminent attack, a warning that was repeated by several other Western embassies.

Mr Putin, who extended his grip on Russia for another six years in the March 15-17 presidential vote after a sweeping crackdown on dissent, earlier this week denounced the Western warnings as an attempt to intimidate Russians.