Moscow concert hall attack: Death toll rises to 133

MOSCOW — Multiple gunmen opened fire on a concert hall in Moscow, Russia, on Friday.

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Death toll rises to 133

Update 9:36 a.m. EDT March 23: Russian authorities say the death toll in the Moscow concert hall attack has risen to 133, according to The Associated Press.

Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the country Saturday and said that 11 people have been detained. Four of the 11 were involved in the deadly attack, the AP reported.

Death toll rises to 115

Update 8:06 a.m. EDT March 23: Russia’s Investigative Committee said that at least 115 people were killed in the attack Friday night, according to Reuters.

The Kremlin said that Putin was informed about the attacks minutes after it happened, according to The Associated Press.

Russian authorities have detained about 11 people, according to state media Saturday, the AP reported.

Crocus City Hall can hold about 6,200 people.

Death toll rises to 93

Update 5:00 a.m. EDT March 23: Russian officials said that at least 93 people were killed in Friday’s attack including three children, The Associated Press reported.

Russia’s Federal Security Service said that 11 people are in custody, according to the state news agency Tass, the AP reported. Four of those detained had direct involvement in the attack. The four people were stopped in western Russia’s Bryansk region, “not far from the border with Ukraine,” the Russian Investigative Committee said.

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Russia says 60 people killed in attack

Update 9:36 p.m. EDT March 22: The Investigative Committee reported Saturday morning that more than 60 people were killed in the attack, according to The Associated Press. Health officials listed about 145 people injured. Of the 145, about 115 were taken to the hospital. The 115 also includes about five children.

It remains unclear what happened to the attackers after the raid, the AP reported.

U.S. Intelligence agencies shared information with officials in Russia when they learned of ISIS-K’s plans for an attack in Moscow, the AP reported.

US Officials confirm ISIS claims

Update 6:49 p.m. EDT March 22: U.S. officials collected intelligence earlier in the month that Islamic State-Khorasan, known as ISIS-K had been planning an attack on Moscow, The New York Times reported. ISIS-K is based in Afghanistan.

ISIS claims responsibility for attack

Update 5:58 p.m. EDT March 22: The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the Moscow concert hall attack according to a statement posted on social media, The Associated Press reported. The authenticity of the claim has not been verified.

CNN reported that the statement was posted on ISIS-affiliated news agency Amaq on Telegram.

Original story: At least 40 people have been killed in the attack and more than 100 people have been injured, The Associated Press reported.

The attack happened at the Crocus City Hall concert venue, according to CNN. It happened before the group Picnic was set to take the stage to perform, state media Russia 24. None of the performers were injured, according to the band’s manager.

RIA Novosti reported the armed individuals “opened fire with automatic weapons” and “threw a grenade or an incendiary bomb, which started a fire, CNN reported. A partial roof collapse was reported by Russia 24.

“Unidentified people in camouflage broke into Crocus City Hall and started shooting before the start of the concert,” the Russia Prosecutor General’s Office according to TASS, per CNN.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that the attack is a “huge tragedy,” and investigators are looking into it to see if it is related to terrorism. According to the AP, no one has immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

Sobyanin said that all large events that were planned for the weekend in the area will be canceled, according to The New York Times.

Andrei Vorobyov, the governor of the Moscow region, said he is planning to head to the area of the concert hall, the AP reported. He will be working on setting up a task force to handle the damage.

“Our thoughts are going to be with the victims of this terrible, terrible shooting attack,” White House National Security Advisor John Kirby said Friday, according to the AP. “There are some moms and dads and brothers and sisters and sons and daughters who haven’t gotten the news yet. This is going to be a tough day.”

The attack is believed to be the deadliest attack in Russia over the last few years even as Russia continues its war in Ukraine, the AP reported. The last deadliest attack was in 2022 when a gunman killed about 18 people in a school in Izhevsk, Russia, the Times reported.

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