2024 Crocus City Hall attack

2024 Crocus City Hall attack
Part of terrorism in Russia and Islamic terrorism in Europe
File:Зал Крокус Сити Холл (08.11.2019).jpg The music venue in 2019
Location	Crocus City Hall, Krasnogorsk, Moscow Oblast, Russia
Coordinates
Date	22 March 2024 20:00 (MSK, UTC+3)
Attack type	Mass shooting, bombing, arson
Deaths	40+
Injured	145+
No. of participants	5

On 22 March 2024, at around 8:00 p.m. local time (MSK, UTC+3), a mass shooting and multiple explosions occurred at the Crocus City Hall music venue in Krasnogorsk, a Russian city on the western edge of Moscow. At least 40 people were killed and over 145 injured after five masked and camouflaged gunmen opened fire on the people gathered at the venue. Russia's Foreign Ministry called the incident a terrorist attack. An Islamic State-affiliated Telegram group has claimed responsibility, as some outlets have reported, but the group did not provide evidence to support this claim.

Background

See also: Terrorism in Russia

Crocus City Hall is part of a larger block of shopping centers, restaurants, and other attractions called Crocus City. Built in 2009 as a concert venue with a capacity of 6,000 people, it is one of the largest in the area.

On 7 March 2024, the FSB announced that it had neutralized a terrorist cell linked to the Islamic State (IS) in Moscow, which had intended to attack a synagogue in the city.

Two weeks prior to the attack, the United Kingdom and United States embassies in Moscow warned of extremist plans to target large gatherings, including concerts in Moscow. That day, the United States also privately warned Russian officials of the danger of an impending attack from ISIS-K from intelligence gathered earlier in March.

On 19 March 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin called warnings about possible terrorist attacks in Russia "outright blackmail". United States National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said that he believed the previous warnings had no relation to the attack, and that the United States had no advance knowledge of the attack.

Attack

On 22 March 2024, the Russian band Picnic was scheduled to play a sold-out show at Crocus City Hall. At around 8:00 p.m. local time (MSK, UTC+3), before the band began their performance, masked gunmen in combat fatigues opened fire on the crowd using automatic rifles. The attackers were described by one witness as "bearded". The assailants were also reported to have used incendiary devices, with an eyewitness claiming the assailants used petrol bombs to start a fire in the auditorium. At the time of the attack, there was a ballroom dancing competition where children were performing.

Specialized police units from SOBR and OMON units were sent to the scene.

At 9:32 p.m., an explosion was reported, and a partial roof collapse followed at around 10 p.m. Some of the gunmen barricaded themselves within the building, according to some reports. Footage verified by BBC Verify showed "a close-up of what appear[s] to be gunmen shooting indiscriminately."

At least 40 people were killed and over 145 injured, with at least 5 people in critical condition. Shopping centers and other public spaces were evacuated following the attack.

The Russian National Guard were dispatched to search for the assailants, with it being claimed that they possibly escaped using a white car.

Evacuation of the survivors was carried out by medical helicopters, with 70 ambulance crews reportedly being dispatched. The firefighters managed to prevent the fire from spreading. An unknown number of people fled to the parking area from the stage, while others fled to the roof. Authorities were able to evacuate approximately 100 people hiding in the basement.

The musicians of Picnic later posted on Instagram that they and their management were "alive and safe", though they later said that they were unable to contact one of the band members.

Perpetrators

Mykhailo Podolyak, advisor to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote that Ukraine was not involved in the attack. The White House called the situation "terrible" and said there was no indication of Ukrainian involvement in the attack.

The Islamic State – Khorasan Province claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement by Amaq News Agency, which did not provide evidence to support the claim.

Aftermath

Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin cancelled all weekend events in the city. This cancellation was later expanded to the entirety of Russia by the Ministry of Culture. Security was tightened across airports serving the city. Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Maria Zakharova called for the international community to condemn the attack, which she called "a monstrous crime". In Saint Petersburg, shopping centers were closed, and Leningrad Oblast was put on high alert.

The U.S. embassy in Moscow expressed its "sincere condolences", while advising US citizens to avoid the area and that they were "severely limited" in their ability to assist US citizens due to the limits placed on US personnel's ability to travel within Russia. The British embassy in Moscow condemned the attacks and expressed its "sincere condolences to the relatives and loved ones of those hurt and killed in today's events".

See also

• 1999 Russian apartment bombings
• 2004 Arkhangelsk explosion
• Moscow theater hostage crisis
• Beslan school siege
• Manchester Arena bombing
• 2010 Moscow Metro bombings
• 2017 Saint Petersburg Metro bombing