ISIS has claimed responsibility for a shooting attack on Moscow’s Crocus City Hall, in which several gunmen killed at least 137 people and injured more than 100 others.
The group said it was behind the attack in a post on affiliated channels on social-media but did not provide any evidence it was involved.
Russian state media reported that the assailants used automatic firearms and threw explosives, creating a blaze that reportedly caused the roof of the concert hall — which can hold up to 6,000 audience members — to collapse at least in part.
The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office said that “unidentified people in camouflage broke into Crocus City Hall and started shooting before the start of the concert,” while state-run news outlet RIA Novosti reported that the gunmen “threw a grenade or an incendiary bomb, which started a fire.”
Russian authorities said the government had dispatched medical personnel, including over 70 ambulances, as well as special-operations teams and the national guard to the theater, which can be seen engulfed in flames in videos circulating online. The state-owned TASS news agency reported that emergency response units had rescued approximately 100 people from the building, with others still trapped.
Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced on the messaging platform Telegram that he had canceled all cultural events in the city for the upcoming weekend, and said in a statement that he is focused on aiding those injured in the attack.
“Today a terrible tragedy occurred in the Crocus City center,” Sobyanin said. “My condolences to the loved ones of the victims. I gave orders to provide all necessary assistance to everyone who suffered during the incident.”
The attack took place about two weeks after the United States embassy in Moscow warned against attending crowded public events because of the threat of terrorism, a notice followed by embassies of several other countries.
“The Embassy is monitoring reports that extremists have imminent plans to target large gatherings in Moscow, to include concerts, and U.S. citizens should be advised to avoid large gatherings over the next 48 hours,” the embassy said in a March 7 statement.