At least 40 people were killed and more than 100 injured when five gunmen dressed in camouflage opened fire with automatic weapons at people at a concert in the Crocus City Hall near Moscow, in one of the worst such attacks on Russia in years.
\nFlames leapt into the sky and plumes of black smoke rose above the venue, Reuters pictures and video showed.
\nRussian media reported a second blast at the venue and there were reports that some of the gunmen had barricaded themselves somewhere in the building.
\nThe shooting appeared to have begun at a concert of the band \u201cPicnic\u201d.
\n\u201cSuddenly there were bangs behind us \u2013 shots. A burst of firing \u2013 I do not know what,\u201d one witness who asked not to be named told Reuters.
\n\u201cA stampede began, everyone ran to the escalator,\u201d the witness said. \u201cEveryone was screaming, everyone was running.\u201d
\nThe shooting began days after President Vladimir Putin was re-elected for a new six-year term and as Russia is prosecuting a war with Ukraine.
\nState news agency TASS cited Russia\u2019s Federal Security Service (FSB) as saying 40 people had been killed and more than 100 wounded.
\nThe FSB said all necessary measures were being taken.
\nIt was not immediately clear who the gunmen were. Russian news agencies said 70 ambulance crews had been sent to the scene.
\n\u201cA terrible tragedy occurred in the shopping center Crocus City today,\u201d Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said. \u201cI am sorry for the loved ones of the victims.\u201d
\nRussia tightened security at airports and stations and across the capital \u2013 a vast urban area of over 21 million people. Putin has yet to comment in public.
\nRussia\u2019s foreign ministry said it was a \u201cbloody terrorist attack\u201d.
\n\u201cThe entire world community is obliged to condemn this monstrous crime,\u201d Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. \u201cAll efforts are being thrown at saving people.\u201d
\nSHOOTING PEOPLE
\nIn one unverified video posted on social media, men with automatic weapons were shown firing repeatedly at screaming civilians, including women, who were cowering below what looked like an entrance sign to \u201cCrocus City Hall\u201d.
\nOther video footage showed a number of people lying motionless in pools of blood outside the hall. Reuters was unable to immediately verify the footage.
\nAnother video showed the attackers shooting at people in the concert hall.
\nThe White House said on Friday that images of shooting in the Russian capital were hard to watch.
\n\u201cThe images are just horrible and just hard to watch and our thoughts obviously are going to be with the victims of this terrible, terrible shooting attack,\u201d White House spokesman John Kirby said.
\nThe U.S. embassy in Russia warned earlier this month that \u201cextremists\u201d had imminent plans for an attack in Moscow.
\nIt issued its warning several hours after the FSB, the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB, said it had foiled an attack on a synagogue in Moscow by a cell of the militant Sunni Muslim group Islamic State.
\n(Reuters)shooting. gunmen, concert shooting, Russia<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
At least 40 people were killed and more than 100 injured in an attack by five gunmen at a concert in Crocus City Hall near Moscow. The gunmen, dressed in camouflage and armed with automatic weapons, opened fire on the crowd. There was also a report of a second blast at the venue. The attack occurred during a concert by the band “Picnic.” The incident took place shortly after President Vladimir Putin was re-elected and amidst Russia’s conflict with Ukraine. The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) confirmed the casualties and stated that all necessary measures were being taken. The identity of the gunmen was not immediately clear. In response to the attack, security was tightened across Moscow. Russia’s foreign ministry described the incident as a “bloody terrorist attack” and emphasized the need for global condemnation. The U.S. embassy in Russia had previously warned of an imminent extremist attack in Moscow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":5202,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[43,383,1234,1240,279,2460,1173,3093,2165,21,2172,118,3092,185,2952,3091,154,19,827,223,817,114,17,380,2687,2389,1402,1357,293,457,165,1524,1100,18],"class_list":["post-5201","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-other","tag-airports","tag-attack","tag-attacks","tag-clear","tag-comment","tag-community","tag-concert","tag-concert-shooting","tag-condemnation","tag-crime","tag-embassy","tag-fire","tag-gunmen","tag-main","tag-media","tag-moscow","tag-putin","tag-russia","tag-security","tag-shooting","tag-social-media","tag-top-news","tag-ukraine","tag-us","tag-victims","tag-video","tag-video-footage","tag-vladimir-putin","tag-war","tag-white","tag-white-house","tag-witness","tag-women","tag-world"],"acf":{"keyphrase":"","keywords":"","sourceimg":"","country-category":""},"yoast_head":"\n