Gunmen opened fire at a concert hall in a Moscow suburb leaving dead and wounded before a major fire spread through the building, Moscow’s mayor and Russian news agencies have reported.
Attackers dressed in camouflaged outfits entered the building, opened fire and threw a grenade or incendiary bomb, according to a journalist for the RIA Novosti news agency who was at the scene.
Fire quickly spread through the Crocus City Hall, north of the Russian capital, where the theatre can hold several thousand people and has staged several concerts by top international artists.
A helicopter was called in to try help put out the fire at the concert venue, Russia’s state-owned news agency TASS reported.
Around 100 people were evacuated from the basement of the concert hall building, emergency services said as they tried to reach others sheltering on the roof.
“Work is ongoing to save people from the roof of the building with lifting equipment,” the Moscow region’s emergency situations ministry wrote on Telegram.
It was not immediately clear how many people had been injured and who the gunmen were, but Russian news agencies said 50 ambulance crews had been sent to the scene.
Russia’s Federal Security Service said it was taking “all necessary measures” in connection with the shooting, according to Interfax.
Russia’s foreign ministry called the incident a “terrorist attack” that had to be condemned.
The White House sent its condolences to the victims of the “terrible” shooting, saying it was trying to get more information.
“Our thoughts are with the victims of this terrible shooting attack,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters. “The images are just horrible and just hard to watch.”
Mr Kirby added that there was no indication that Ukraine was involved in the deadly attack.
“The entire world community must condemn this despicable crime,” Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote on Telegram.
All public events in Moscow cancelled
No details were given on casualties but Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin confirmed there were deaths in what he called a “terrible tragedy” at the concert by Russian rock band Piknik.
“A terrible tragedy occurred in the shopping centre Crocus City today,” Mr Sobyanin said.
“I am sorry for the loved ones of the victims,” he added.
Mr Sobyanin said all necessary assistance would be provided to those injured during the incident.
He announced that all public events in Moscow this weekend would be cancelled.
“I have decided to cancel all sporting, cultural events and other mass events in Moscow this weekend,” Mr Sobyanin posted on Telegram.
Social media footage
Flames leaped into the sky and plumes of black smoke rose above the venue, video showed.
In 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 entrace sign to the Crocus City Hall.
Other video footage not yet independently verified showed a number of people lying motionless outside the hall.
Another video showed the attackers shooting at people in the concert hall.
The US embassy in Russia warned earlier this month that “extremists” had imminent plans for an attack in Moscow.
It issued its warning several hours after Russia’s Federal Security Service (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.
