Russia’s president has addressed the nation in the aftermath of the deadly attack at a popular concert venue.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday addressed the nation about the Crocus City Hall shooting, denouncing it as a “bloody and barbaric” terrorist attack and vowing to punish all involved. At least 133 people have been killed and over 120 wounded in Friday evening’s massacre.
In his video address, the president declared a national day of mourning on Sunday, March 24 to commemorate the victims of the attack.
Putin expressed his gratitude to all first responders, to law enforcement, and to ordinary citizens who helped the victims of the attack. The president stressed that another effort is underway, focused on the prevention of any further attacks.
”In Moscow and Moscow Region, in all regions of the country, additional anti-terrorism and anti-saboteur measures have been introduced,” he announced, adding: “The main thing now is to prevent those who are behind this bloodbath from committing a new crime.”
Crocus City Hall, in the town of Krasnogorsk in Moscow’s western outskirts, was attacked by gunmen on Friday night. It happened before a concert by Russian rock band Picnic, when the venue, which has an estimated capacity of 7,500, was nearly at capacity.
The attackers shot at the crowd indiscriminately then set the building on fire. They managed to flee the scene in what was said to be a white Renault Symbol/Clio car, prompting a large-scale manhunt.
Eleven people have been detained over the terrorist attack, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has said in a statement.
The arrested suspects include “four terrorists who were directly involved,” the statement read. Investigative work to track down other accomplices are ongoing, it added.
Following the bloodbath at the popular concert venue, “the perpetrators tried to escape by car, fleeing towards the Russian-Ukrainian border,” the FSB said on Saturday. “The criminals intended to cross the Russia-Ukraine border and had relevant contacts on the Ukrainian side,” it added.
According to the agency, “all four terrorists” were arrested in Russia’s Bryansk Region within several hours as a result of well-coordinated actions by the security services and the police. The detainees are now being transferred to Moscow, it added.
The attack on Crocus Crocus City Hall was “carefully planned,” involving weapons that had been placed in a stash in advance, the FSB said.
Russia’s Investigative Committee also confirmed that four suspects, who “committed the terrorist attack” on Crocus City Hall, were detained in Bryansk Region, “not far from the border with Ukraine.”
According to Russia’s Investigative Committee, the death toll in the attack has reached at least 133. The Moscow Region Health Ministry said that at least 121 people were also wounded, with 107 requiring hospitalization.
Vowing to punish all conspirators behind Friday night’s attack, Putin noted that, so far, 11 suspects, including four perpetrators who directly participated in the shooting spree, have been detained. The attackers were caught fleeing “towards Ukraine, where, according to preliminary data, a window to cross the border was prepared on the Ukrainian side,” he added.
“All perpetrators, organizers and masterminds behind this crime will get just and inevitable punishment. Whoever they are, whoever guides them. I repeat, we will identify and punish everyone who stands behind the terrorists, who prepared this atrocity, this attack on Russia, on our people,” the president stated.
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