Crocus City Hall attack

On 22 March 2024, at around 20:00 MSK (UTC+3), a coordinated Islamist terrorist attack against civilians occurred at the Crocus City Hall. It is a music venue in Krasnogorsk, a city on the western edge of Moscow in Russia. Several gunmen carried out a mass shooting on the people there. They also used incendiary devices to set the venue on fire. The attack killed at least 145 people. More than 500 people were injured. It is the deadliest terrorist attack in Russia since the Beslan school siege in 2004.

Russia's Foreign Ministry called the massacre a terrorist attack. In a statement on the Telegram channel of Amaq News Agency shortly after the attack, the Islamic State – Khorasan Province ( or ISIS-K), a branch the Islamic State, claimed responsibility. The branch that claimed responsibility is based in Afghanistan. Russian state media and officials, including President Vladimir Putin, have said that Ukraine was involved in the attack, without providing any evidence. Ukraine has denied any involvement.

## Attack

On 22 March 2024, the Russian band Piknik 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 assault rifles. 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 some of them were believed to be among those killed in the attack.

One witness described the attackers as bearded men. Amateur video footage taken at the event 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. The assailants were also reported to have used incendiary devices. One eyewitness claimed 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.

At 21:32, an explosion was reported, and part of the roof collapsed at around 22:00. <sup class="noprint Inline-Template noprint noexcerpt Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[_<span title="This source only states that the roof was beginning to collapse; it does not state the time. (March 2024)">better source needed</span>_]</sup> Moscow governor Andrey Vorobyov claimed the roof over the hall collapsed. Some early reports indicated that the gunmen barricaded themselves within the building.

Specialized police units from the Special Rapid Response Unit (SOBR) and Special Purposes Mobile Unit (OMON) were sent to the scene. They arrived over 1 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 car.

Medical helicopters were used to evacuate survivors. 70 ambulance crews had been  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. Firefighters prevented the fire from spreading. 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. The roof over the hall collapsed. Video released by Moscow's state governor the next day showed extensive damage to the building with the roof and upper rows of the concert hall completely collapsed.

## Casualties

At least 137 people were killed. More than 145 people were injured, 107 people were sent to a hospital. At least 60 people are in critical condition. 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.

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.

## Infobox (civilian attack)

- **title**: Crocus City Hall attack
- **location**: Crocus City Hall, Krasnogorsk, Moscow Oblast, Krasnogorsk, Moscow Oblast, Russia
- **image**: File:Elimination of the consequences of a fire in "Crocus City Hall" (March 25, 2024).jpg
- **caption**: Crocus City Hall auditorium, March 25 after the terrorist attack
- **partof**: Islamic terrorism and terrorism in Russia
- **time**: 20:00 Moscow Time, MSK (UTC+3)
- **fatalities**: 145
- **injuries**: 551
- **numparts**: 4
- **motive**: Unknown
- **perpetrators**: Islamic State – Khorasan Province (claimed responsiblity)