The first suspect apprehended after the attack on Crocus City Hall that killed at least 137 people has arrived in court at the Basmanny Court of Moscow.
March 24 Moscow concert hall attack
By Heather Chen, Andrew Raine, Catherine Nicholls, Antoinette Radford, Maureen Chowdhury and Kathleen Magramo, CNN
Updated 4:52 AM ET, Mon March 25, 2024
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First suspect apprehended in the Crocus City Hall attack arrives in court
From CNN’s Masha Angelova
Crocus City Hall killings are deadliest since Beslan school siege — these are some other recent attacks in Russia
From CNN Staff
The attack on Moscow's popular Crocus City Hall that left at least 133 dead has become the deadliest attack in Russia since the Beslan school siege in 2004.
Some other recent attacks include:
- September 26, 2022: Eleven children and four adults were killed when a gunman wearing Nazi symbols opened fire at a school in the western Russian city of Izhevsk. The shooter, who was reportedly wearing a black T-shirt with Nazi insignia and a helmet, died by suicide following the attack.
- April 3, 2017: At least 11 people were killed in a blast on the St. Petersburg metro. The explosion tore through a train as it was traveling between two stations in Russia’s second-largest city.
- October 31, 2015: A Russian passenger jet, Metrojet Flight 9268 crashed on October 31 after departing from the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, killing all 224 people on board. US intelligence analysis suggested that ISIS or its affiliates planted a bomb on the plane.
- December 30, 2013: A massive explosion at a train station in the Russian city of Volgograd killed at least 16 people, including one police officer, the Investigative Committee of Russia said.
- January 25, 2011: A suicide bomber attacked Domodedovo Airport, Moscow's busiest airport, killing 35 people and wounding about 100, authorities and state television said.
- March 29, 2010: Two explosions rocked the subway stations in central Moscow during rush hour, killing at least 38 people and wounding more than 60 others, spawning widespread public outrage. A website associated with Chechen separatists, who have long fought for independence from Russia, claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Rescuers, robotic systems and canine teams are currently on site of Crocus City concert hall
From CNN’s Darya Tarasova and Eve Brennan
More than 300 “specialists” and 154 pieces of equipment are currently on site at the Crocus City concert hall in Krasnogorsk, Moscow region, where a deadly attack took place Friday, Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations said on Telegram on Sunday.
The ministry said more than 400 cubic meters of structures had been dismantled by rescuers while specialized robotic systems, canine teams and psychologists from the ministry continue to work.
More than 1,600 calls have already been received on the department’s hotline, the ministry added.
The post was accompanied by a video showing dozens of emergency workers digging through the rubble of the partially burned-down concert hall.
Remember: At least 137 people died on Friday after attackers opened fire on civilians at the Crocus City concert hall, and set the building ablaze. The Islamic State group, also known as ISIS, has claimed the attack and released graphic footage purporting to show the incident.
Putin lit a candle in memory of victims of the concert hall attack
From CNN's Eve Brennan and Anna Chernova
Russian President Vladimir Putin lit a candle Sunday in memory of victims of the deadly attack at the Crocus City concert hall in Moscow region on Friday.
Putin also expressed deep condolences following the Moscow shooting, calling it a "barbaric terrorist act" in a video statement released Saturday.
More background: The deadly attack comes barely a week after Putin secured his fifth presidential term. The large-scale attack is damaging for a leader who portrays himself as someone able to guarantee order.
Death toll in concert hall attack rises to 137 — including 3 children, Russian Investigative Committee says
From CNN's Darya Tarasova
The Russian Investigative Committee has updated the death toll in the Crocus City attack to 137.
In a statement released online, the committee said "the bodies of 137 people have been found at the site of the terrorist attack, three of which are children."
The committee added that 62 bodies have been identified so far.
"For the remaining victims, genetic examinations are being carried out to establish their identities," the statement said. "The investigation of the crime scene continues."
Russian Embassy in US says it did not receive notification of impending terrorist attack
From CNN’s Katya Krebs in Moscow and Eve Brennan in London
The Russian Embassy in Washington says it did not receive any warnings about a potential terror attack in Moscow from the US, Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov told Russian state news agency RIA Novosti on Sunday.
The US diplomatic mission had warned Americans to “avoid large gatherings” at the beginning of March due to reports “that extremists have imminent plans to target large gatherings in Moscow.”
Earlier this week Putin had dismissed those warnings, telling the FSB that the embassy warnings were "provocative" and "outright blackmail."
“We did not receive any notifications or messages in advance,” Antonov told RIA.
“We paid attention to this, but,… I had no contacts with either the White House or the State Department on this issue,” he added.
In light of Friday’s attack at Crocus, Antonov told RIA Novosti that contacts between the US and the Russian Federation in the fight against terrorism have been “destroyed,” adding that the fault was not Moscow’s.
“I always reminded the Americans that our president was the first who, in 2001, extended his hand to the Americans and declared his readiness to provide help. And something worked, it worked... and it’s not our fault that all of this has been destroyed today,” he said.
Memorials have become a regular feature of Russian life
From CNN's Matthew Chance, Chief Global Affairs Correspondent, Moscow
Huge memorials like the the one at the Crocus City Hall have become a regular feature of life in Russia — a sign of instability and volatility inside the country.
Last year people laid flowers for Wagner mercenary leader Prigozhin who died in mysterious plane crash after leading an abortive march on Moscow.
And last month, thousands turned out to pay respects to the prominent Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny, who died suddenly in his penal colony.
Now, thousands of Russians are mourning the victims of this latest terror attack.
Alexander Matveev, 37, told CNN that people in Russia feel insecure and worried that another attack could take place.
He said he heard Putin suggest that Ukraine may be involved and it made sense to him.
“He said they were trying to escape to Ukraine. This makes sense. They just found some halfwits who were eager for money," he said. Ukraine has strongly denied any connection.
But, Matveev added he would wait to hear what investigators find.
“There is a bit of anxiety here. We are worried if another attack will take place.”
“But Russia is strong, we won’t give up.”
Procedures to identify victims of Crocus City attack have begun
From CNN’s Darya Tarasova
Procedures to identify those killed in the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall in Moscow region on Friday have begun, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported that the city’s Department of Health had said on Sunday.
Such procedures are taking place at the Moscow Forensic Medical Examination Bureau where relatives of the victims have been invited in advance, according to RIA.
RIA added that the department said molecular genetic examination may be required in some cases, given the complexity of the procedure, which will take at least two weeks.
Russia creating a "smokescreen of propaganda" following attack, UK says
From CNN’s Thom Poole and Eve Brennan in London
UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt told British broadcaster Sky News that the UK government has “very little confidence in anything the Russian government says” with regards to the Kremlin’s claim that Ukraine was somehow involved in the Moscow Crocus City attack on Friday.
On Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an address that the four attackers had tried to escape to Ukraine “where, according to preliminary data, a window was prepared for them on the Ukrainian side to cross the state border."
“We know that they are creating a smokescreen of propaganda to defend an utterly evil invasion of Ukraine. But, that doesn’t mean that it’s not a tragedy when innocent people lose their lives, when you have horrible bombings,” he said.
Hunt went on to say he takes “what the Russian government says with an enormous pinch of salt… after what we have seen from them over the last few years.”
CNN's Anna Chernova contributed to this report.