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At least 133 are dead and more injured after an attack on a Moscow concert hall

By Nick Spicer,

Published March 22, 2024 at 3:44 PM PDT

Vehicles of Russian emergency services are parked near the burning Crocus City Hall concert venue, following a reported shooting incident, outside Moscow, Russia, March 22.

Several gunmen wearing camouflage burst into a concert venue and opened fire. A fire broke out and some were trapped inside. Eleven people have been detained, Russian officials said.

At least 40 people have been killed and over 100 people injured after several gunmen wearning camouflage burst into a concert venue on the outskirts of Moscow Friday. A fire has broken out on the premises, endangering more lives, with flames visible from miles away. The whereabouts of the gunmen remains unknown.

Concertgoers had gathered at Moscow's Crocus City Hall venue to see the veteran Russian rock band Picnic when several armed gunmen in military fatigues entered the premises.

Witness videos on social media show at least three attackers firing at bystanders as they attempted to hide. Other images show people lying on the ground in the main concert hall before a fire breaks out and spreads through the premises. trapping some inside; a number of people have been spotted on the roof of the venue.

Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said "a huge tragedy has occurred" as the number of dead is expected to rise, and expressed his condolences.

Russian Rosguardia (National Guard) servicemen secure an area near the Crocus City Hall on the western edge of Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 22, 2024. Several gunmen have burst into a big concert hall in Moscow and fired automatic weapons at the crowd, injuring an unspecified number of people.

Reuters news agency is reporting that the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, is claiming responsibility for the attack on its Telegram channel. But this claim has not been independently verified.

The White House issued a statement calling the attack "terrible" and saying there was "no indication at this time" of a Ukrainian role in the attack.

Some Russian officials are suggesting there must be some Ukrainian role, a claim the Ukrainians deny. Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tweeted "Ukraine certainly had nothing to do with the shooting in the Crocus City Hall. It makes no sense whatsoever."

U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the images of the shooting were "horrible and hard to watch." The US embassy in Moscow has warned U.S. citizens to avoid the area.

A medic stands near ambulances parked outside the burning building of the Crocus City Hall on the western edge of Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 22, 2024. Several gunmen have burst into a big concert hall in Moscow and fired automatic weapons at the crowd

Moscow was the scene of a hostage crisis at the Dubrovka theater in 2002, in which Chechen gunmen demanding the withdrawal of Russian troops from Chechnya took some 800 theatergoers hostage. A raid by Russian security forces to end the crisis killed or caused the death of 172 people.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova called on the international community to condemn the incident, calling it "a monstrous crime."

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.