Crocus City Hall attack

Not to be confused with Moscow theater hostage crisis.

Crocus City Hall attack
Crocus City Hall amphitheater, day after terrorist attack
Location	Crocus City Hall, Krasnogorsk, Moscow Oblast, Russia
Coordinates	55°49′33″N 37°23′25″E
Date	22 March 2024 (2024-03-22) c. 20:00 (MSK)
Attack type	Mass shooting massacre bombing arson slashing mass murder
Weapons	AK-74-style assault rifles pistols knives petrol bombs
Deaths	137+ (including two attackers)
Injured	154
Perpetrators	Islamic State – Khorasan Province Citizens of Tajikistan
No. of participants	4
Motive	Islamic extremism, contract killing

On 22 March 2024, at around 20:00 MSK (UTC+3), a coordinated attack occurred at the Crocus City Hall music venue in Krasnogorsk, Russia, on the western edge of Moscow. Four gunmen carried out a mass shooting, as well as slashing attacks on the people gathered at the venue and used incendiary devices to set the venue on fire. Investigators stated the attack had killed at least 137 people, with more than 154 concertgoers injured. The Islamic State – Khorasan Province (IS–KP), a South-Central Asia-based regional affiliate of the Islamic State, claimed responsibility in a statement through the Amaq News Agency shortly after the attack. Amaq also published a video of the attack filmed by one of the attackers, showing the attackers shooting and knifing victims, while the filming attacker praises Allah and speaks against infidels.

Russian President Vladimir Putin called the attack a "barbaric terrorist act" and said that the gunmen had been arrested. Two of the gunmen were later reported to be killed. He also declared 24 March to be a national day of mourning. Russia's Foreign Ministry called the incident a terrorist attack. It is the deadliest terrorist attack in Russia since the Beslan school siege in 2004.

Background

See also: Terrorism in Russia

Russia was subject to major terror attacks starting from a series of explosions that hit apartment blocks in Moscow in 1999, followed by the Moscow theater hostage crisis in 2002 and the Beslan school siege in 2004. In October 2015, Islamic State militants downed a Russian passenger jet over Egypt, killing all 224 people on board. The Islamic State has carried out coordinated, large-scale attacks on music venues throughout Europe since the 2010s, including a similar attack during a rock concert at the Bataclan theater in Paris in November 2015, as well as a bombing at the end of a pop music performance at the Manchester Arena in England in May 2017. It was also responsible for the bombing of the Russian embassy in Kabul in 2022.

After years of relative silence, the Islamic State has been trying to increase its external attacks. On 3 January 2024, IS–KP conducted bombings in Iran that killed at least 103 people; the U.S. warned Iran of the possible attack. Colin Clarke from the independent Soufan Center think tank stated that IS–KP "has been fixated on Russia for the past two years, frequently criticizing Putin in its propaganda." Russia had also targeted the Islamic State during its intervention in the Syrian Civil War on behalf of the government of President Bashar al-Assad.

On 7 March 2024, the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) announced that it had neutralized a terrorist cell linked to IS in Moscow, which had intended to attack a synagogue in the city. Hours later, the U.S. embassy in Moscow warned that "extremists have imminent plans to target large gatherings in Moscow, to include concerts" and advised U.S citizens to "avoid large gatherings over the next 48 hours." That day, the U.S. also privately warned Russian officials of the danger of an impending attack from IS–KP from intelligence gathered earlier in March, under the U.S. intelligence community's "duty to warn" requirement.

On 19 March, Putin said the U.S. embassy's warning resembled "outright blackmail and an intention to intimidate and destabilize our society." Putin had previously thanked the U.S. and the CIA for giving warnings that prevented terror attacks in Russia in 2017 and 2019. U.S. officials confirmed to The New York Times that the attack was related to the prior U.S. warning, and also stated that the intelligence reports that the warning was based on had been shared with Russian officials before the attack.

Attack

Crocus City Hall auditorium (in 2019)

Crocus City Hall was built in 2009 as a concert venue with a capacity of 6,200 people, and is one of the largest in the area. It is part of a larger block of shopping centers, restaurants, and other attractions called Crocus City, and was also the venue of the Miss Universe 2013 pageant and the Top Hit Music Awards in 2013 and 2019.

On 22 March 2024, the Russian band Picnic was scheduled to play a sold-out show at Crocus City Hall. At around 20:00 MSK (UTC+3), before the band began their performance, masked gunmen in combat fatigues opened fire on the crowd using AK-74-style assault rifles. An IS–KP report had also claimed that the assailants had pistols and knives. Because the show was about to begin, some believed the initial sound of gunshots was part of the act. At the time of the attack, children and teenagers were also in the building for a ballroom dancing competition. The venue's security guards were unarmed, and it is believed that some of them were among those killed in the attack.

One witness described the attackers as bearded men. Amateur video footage verified by BBC Verify showed masked gunmen shooting indiscriminately in the entrance hall and auditorium. Other footage posted to Telegram showed men in military fatigues and baseball caps firing into crowds of screaming people. On 23 March, IS–KP released a video through Amaq News Agency, showing the shooting and throat-slitting of victims in the attack. In the video, the assailants appear to shoot patrons outside the entrance of the auditorium. The assailants are heard shouting; "reload the assault rifle, reload the assault rifle" and "kill them and have no mercy." After shooting the victims, an assailant slits the throat of a still-alive victim who was shot off-camera. After the killings, one of the assailants is reported to state: "The infidels are defeated by the grace of Allah. Allah is great. The infidels are defeated. We went out for the sake of Allah and are supporting his religion."

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. Amateur video footage posted to social media sites showed huge fires and plumes of smoke coming from the building from the fires set by the assailants, including by an emergency stairwell, forcing people towards the attackers' positions in the middle of the lobby. The fire in the complex was estimated to have covered an area of 12,900 square metres (139,000 square feet). Hours later, a large sound was reported, followed by a partial roof collapse. Moscow Oblast governor Andrey Vorobyov said the roof over the hall had collapsed.

Specialized police units from the Special Rapid Response Unit (SOBR) and Special Purposes Mobile Unit (OMON) were sent to the scene, arriving over one hour after the shootings started, according to Nexta. Vorobyov went to the scene to set up a task force to handle the situation. The National Guard of Russia was also dispatched to search for the assailants, with a picture posted of the suspected assailants fleeing in a white Renault Symbol 2007 car with Russian license plates T668UM 69 (Tver Oblast), which they purchased on 4 January 2024. The arrival of security forces to the site was delayed by an hour and a half due to heavy traffic jams.

Emergency services responding to the attack

Survivors were evacuated via medical helicopters, with 70 ambulance crews reportedly being dispatched. An unknown number of people fled to the parking area from the stage, while others fled to the roof. Authorities evacuated approximately 100 people hiding in the basement. A survivor said that escapees were hampered by locked doors, forcing some of them to break a door open to escape. Firefighters prevented the fire from spreading, while three helicopters were deployed to dump water on the burning rooftop.

By 07:00 on 23 March, Vorobyov reported the fire had been contained and mostly extinguished. He released video showing extensive damage to the building with the roof and upper rows of the concert hall completely collapsed. By 11:30 that same day, the fire had been completely extinguished.

Casualties

The attack left at least 137 dead and 154 more injured, some critically. Aside from gunshot wounds, some of the deaths were caused by smoke inhalation. According to the Russian Minister of Health, Mikhail Murashko, five children were injured in the attack. At least three children were killed, while the oldest fatality was a woman in her 70s. Most of the victims were from northwestern edge of Moscow, including Krasnogorsk and Khimki.

The members of Picnic later posted on Instagram that they and their management were "alive and safe", with TASS later reporting that they had been evacuated.

Investigation

As of 23 March, 11 people have been detained, including the four suspected assailants in the white car, who were captured on the 376th kilometer of the M3 highway, near the village of Khatsun', 140 kilometers (85 miles) from the Ukrainian border in Bryansk Oblast, and about 340 kilometers (210 miles) southwest of Moscow, on the evening of 22 March. However, they had yet to be identified. Russia coordinated with Belarusian security forces to prevent the suspects from crossing the Belarus–Russia border. The Investigative Committee of Russia launched a criminal terrorist probe into the attack.

State Duma deputy Alexander Khinshtein said that Tajik passports were discovered in the vehicle of the individuals in custody, and the Russian Telegram channel Baza identified the four attackers as citizens of Tajikistan. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Tajikistan denied the involvement of three of its citizens, stating that the individuals named in the discovered passports had returned to Tajikistan months earlier and were working there.

Officials later said that none of the attackers were Russian citizens. A short video on Telegram allegedly showed one of the suspects, reported to be a 30-year-old man, being tortured by FSB agents, who cut off his ear and forced him to eat it. In another interrogation video released by Russian state media, a 25-year old suspect said that he participated in the attack in exchange for 1 million rubles ($10,800), half of which he claimed to have already received by card transfer from individuals who contacted him on Telegram and whose identities he did not know. A suspect was killed at the Crocus City Hall, while another was killed in Bryansk Oblast.

Responsibility for the attack

Two of the alleged perpetrators during the escape, captured by public CCTV

IS–KP claimed responsibility for the attack shortly after in a statement released by Amaq News Agency via Telegram, stating that the attackers "retreated to their bases safely." The group is a regional branch of the Islamic State, an international terrorist group active in South-Central Asia, primarily Afghanistan. U.S. officials stated they had intelligence indicating that IS–KP had been planning an attack on the city.

On 23 March, IS–KP released photos of the attackers and a full report on the attack. Later on the same day, Amaq News Agency released a 91-second video of the attack filmed by one of the attackers, showing a second attacker using an automatic rifle to shoot at victims, a third attacker using a knife to cut a victim's throat, and a fourth attacker with a backpack; the filming attacker praises Allah and declares that infidels will be defeated.

American officials stated that their intelligence revealed IS-KP had acted alone for the attack.

Russian allegations of Ukrainian involvement

Putin and the FSB claimed that terrorists tried to cross the Russia–Ukraine border and had contacts on the "Ukrainian side." Ukraine, which has been at war with Russia, denied any involvement in the attack, and described the FSB's claims as "very doubtful and primitive" disinformation, recalling that the border is heavily guarded by soldiers and drones, mined in many areas, and constantly shelled from both sides. Ukraine also accused Russia of orchestrating the attack. The U.S. said there was no indication of Ukrainian involvement. Ukraine-based militant groups Russian Volunteer Corps and Freedom of Russia Legion denied involvement in the attack.

Aftermath

Commemoration of the dead near the memorial to Soviet soldiers in the center of Volgograd

Memorial video featuring a single candle on a billboard in the Moscow Metro on March 23, 2024

See also: Disinformation in the Russian invasion of Ukraine § Involvement in the Crocus City Hall attack

Despite a police cordon, passersby laid tributes outside Crocus City Hall following the attack, while advertising billboards in Moscow displayed memorial posters showing a candle and the message "We mourn."

In an address to the nation on 23 March, President Putin announced that 24 March would be a day of national mourning for the victims of the attack and vowed to punish those responsible. Putin also stated that all the attackers, whom he compared to the Nazis, had been apprehended, and alleged that the attackers were trying to enter the Ukrainian border, where he said a "window" was prepared on the Ukrainian side.

Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin cancelled all weekend events in the city, and security was tightened across airports and train and subway stations serving the city. The Russian Ministry of Culture later cancelled events nationwide. In Saint Petersburg, shopping centers were closed, and Leningrad Oblast was put on high alert. At least 3,000 people donated blood for the victims at the Gavrilov Blood Center in Moscow, the country's largest blood transfusion facility, and other medical facilities. Sberbank, Sovcombank, and Home Bank pledged to settle loans and relieve the debts of the families of clients who were killed or injured in the attack.

A friendly football match between Russia and Paraguay scheduled on 25 March was cancelled due to the attack.

Responses

Domestic

Putin's speech on the attack

Putin wished those injured in the attack a speedy recovery and praised the doctors involved in treating the victims. A spokesperson for Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church said that he was "praying for peace for the souls of the dead."

Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Maria Zakharova called for the international community to condemn the attack, which she called "a monstrous crime."

International

Main article: International reactions to the Crocus City Hall attack

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

The Taliban-led government of Afghanistan, where IS–KP is based and who have been at war with them since 2015, called the attack "a blatant violation of all human standards" and called for cooperation between themselves and neighboring states. Numerous countries' governments condemned the attack and expressed their condolences to the Russian people and families of the victims. In many nations, including Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan, flowers were laid outside Russian embassies to memorialize the victims of the attack. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, the European Union, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and Moussa Faki, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission also condemned the attack and expressed condolences. The terrorist attack was condemned by Hezbollah.

Ukraine's Defense Intelligence (HUR) claimed the shooting was a "planned and deliberate provocation by the Russian special services" at the behest of Putin. Ukraine's Foreign Ministry rejected assumptions by some Russian officials that Ukraine may have been involved in the attack, stating that it regarded such accusations as a "planned provocation by the Kremlin to further fuel anti-Ukrainian hysteria in Russian society, create conditions for increased mobilisation of Russian citizens to participate in the criminal aggression against our country and discredit Ukraine in the eyes of the international community." In his evening address on 23 March, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Putin, "instead of dealing with his citizens of Russia, addressing them, remained silent for a day - thinking how to bring this to Ukraine." Later, in an interview with Sky News on 24 March, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt called the Russian allegations "a smokescreen of propaganda to defend an utterly evil invasion of Ukraine."

See also

• List of terrorist incidents linked to the Islamic State
• List of terrorist incidents in 2024
• List of massacres in Russia
• List of mass shootings in Russia

External links

• "BBC Verify examines how the Moscow attack unfolded" (two minute video compiling social media footage, with comments by BBC Verify)