On the evening of March 22, Natalya had just taken off her coat and was standing in line at the entrance to a 3-seat concert hall on the outskirts of Moscow, where a Soviet-era rock group was preparing to perform.
"I was just about to step inside when gunfire erupted from behind," Natalya recounted. “The noisy gunfire sounded like firecrackers or fireworks, but it rang out continuously. I could hear it right behind me.”
“Everyone was screaming and running,” Natalya said. Immediately, she fled to the nearby metro station in the cold Moscow night without her coat. “I went through terrible emotions. It was a nightmare.”
Employees of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations clean up rubble at the concert hall of the Crocus City Hall shopping center after the terrorist attack. Photo: Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations
To date, more than 143 people have been killed and dozens more injured in the deadliest attack in Russia since the Beslan school siege in 2004. The self-proclaimed Islamic State terrorist organization ( IS) claimed responsibility for the incident.
Russia's General Security Service (FSB) said 11 people, including four suspects, were detained in the Bryansk region, about 4 km southwest of Moscow. They were arrested as they approached the border to flee to Ukraine. Kiev denies any involvement in the attack.
According to witnesses, men dressed in camouflage and combat vests containing dozens of spare ammunition magazines arrived at Crocus City Hall shopping center at around 19:40 p.m. on March 22 (local time) on a vehicle. small truck. They then jumped out of the back door of the truck and held weapons toward the entrance.
They shot straight through the glass door at the main entrance, firing indiscriminately at anyone passing by. Dozens of bodies lay motionless in pools of blood on the marble floor at the main entrance.
Some people used their hands to smash emergency exit door locks and windows as gunfire echoed around the mall's lobby, which is just 20 kilometers west of the Kremlin.
After firing at people at the entrance, the gunmen entered the concert hall just as hundreds of people were taking their seats preparing to enjoy the sold-out concert.
“Some people thought the gunfire was some kind of special effect of the show,” said a witness named Anastasia Rodionova. “Then I saw with my own eyes people falling down and machine gun fire started going off.”
“The self-defense instinct arose, my eyes opened wide, where could I run?”, Rodionova recounted, saying some men knocked on the door to run into the street and escape.
The loudspeaker began to blare that the concert would be canceled due to “technical reasons.” Everyone was asked to leave the hall.
Verified video showed people rushing for the exits as gunshots rang out along with screams. The attackers walked through the concert hall and then fired volleys of bullets at civilians.
An injured woman being treated in Moscow said that when the gunmen attacked, she fell to the floor. Then, she crawled to the exit to escape. “A girl next to me was killed,” she said.
People place floral tributes for the victims of the shooting at Crocus City Hall. Photo: Reuters
As gunmen devastated the mall, some people ran outside, while others cowered in fear behind maroon chairs. One woman said she told her friend to lie down behind the chair as the gunfire got closer and closer.
According to Russian investigators, after opening fire, the terrorists began setting fire to the building. Some witnesses said the gunmen poured some type of liquid on seats and curtains in several places before setting fire.
The fire quickly spread over an area of 12.900 square meters, forming a column of black smoke billowing into the night sky. Despite their clothes catching fire, some people tried to jump over the fire in the hope of escaping "hell".
The roof collapsed and hundreds of firefighters fought for hours to control the blaze that was consuming the entire hall. All that remains are the burned iron support beams and steel frames of hundreds of chairs.
The Baza Telegram channel, known for its close links to Russian special services, said 14 bodies were found on the evacuation stairs and 28 bodies were found in a toilet. In it were the bodies of entire families, as well as the bodies of mothers holding their dead children.
Hoai Phuong (according to Reuters)
