On the evening of March 22, men armed with machine guns burst into the Crocus City Hall building in Krasnogorsk and opened fire on people who came to the concert of the rock group Picnic. According to preliminary data, there were four shooters and they acted in an organized manner. The Investigative Committee opened a criminal case for a terrorist attack. The number of victims of the tragedy has increased to 133, more than 100 victims are in hospitals.
“At first they didn’t believe it was being shot”
The first victims of the militants were people who were late for the concert and were standing in line at the entrance in front of metal detectors at the time of the attack.
“We were standing with my friend Oleg and at first we heard some sounds from behind, similar to cabinets falling or firecrackers exploding. People behind us ran in all directions, and then we realized that they were shooting,” said Muscovite Anna, who came to the concert with a friend, in a conversation with RT.
According to her, they immediately ran to the corner near the exit, closest to the glass doors. The video recorded by one of the eyewitnesses shows about ten people crammed in there, then one of the terrorists approaches them and shoots them point-blank. In this corner, those people who were covered by the bodies of other visitors were able to survive.
“We ended up there, Anya fell to the floor, at that moment I thought that I needed to cover her so that she would not be crushed by the crowd. I remember that we were lying while they were shooting at us, and I told Anya that we had to somehow get up and leave,” Oleg said.
According to Anna, when the terrorists began to shoot people, their bullets broke through the glass, and people began to crawl out.
“We somehow managed to get out. I remember that a man was left lying there, and his wife seemed to escape and ran out. We saw through the glass how the terrorists began to climb the escalator to the second floor. And they ran to the cars and quickly left,” the interlocutor added.
In this corner, some visitors were able to survive: they found themselves under the bodies of those whom the terrorists shot at point-blank range
© RT
The terrorists were able to break into the concert hall when there were only a few minutes left before the band's performance began. Catherine was among those who were able to leave the hall first - even before the fire started there. According to the girl, she was able to quickly find her bearings and did not get confused because she was alone, without close people.
“Many people didn’t believe at first that they were shooting. Someone said this is how this show starts. I first sank to the floor and crawled to the emergency exit. “Crocus” workers opened it and showed where to run next,” the girl said. According to her, the taxi driver who picked her up from Crocus refused to take money for the trip.
Spectators neutralized the terrorists
At this time, the terrorists continued to shoot people trying to escape from the hall. One of the attackers was briefly neutralized by the men who were next to him on the ground.
“Three people (terrorists
- RT
) walked along the dress circle, and the fourth, whom I saw, came out just from behind the descent and shot people in cold blood,” Peter (name changed), who asked not to disclose his identity, told reporters. “I looked at my wife, saw wild horror in her eyes and realized that I had to do something. And at that moment, when he caught up with us, he began to reload his weapon. I had a second to think. I pushed my wife, and I ran around to his left, grabbed the machine gun with my left hand and pulled it down, and with my right hand began to strike him on the head. He began to go down, I grabbed him by the neck with my left hand and continued to strike him in the same way.”
People who saw how he neutralized the shooter began to talk about Peter’s feat on social networks. They are sure that the man saved several dozen people.
The Chairman of the Investigative Committee ordered the hero to be nominated for an award.
Olga Ilyina told RT that people who wanted to go down the main stairs saw corpses in the hall and began to panic. She had to revive a young man who was hysterical from what he saw:
“For some reason it seemed to me that one of the stairs was our exit. A guy stood on it and shouted that he couldn’t go on. I grabbed him by the jacket and said: “Get ready, there’s an exit, we have to go there!” We ran through this hall, jumping over pools of blood... Killed people lay under tables near the buffets, sat on sofas, two shot elderly women lay on each other’s shoulders...”
The area of the fire in Crocus was 13 thousand square meters. m
RIA News
At the time of the attack, there were also people with disabilities in Crocus. Anna came to the concert with her 16-year-old son, who uses a wheelchair. They did not have time to enter the hall because the teenager asked to buy him tea.
“We were already walking to the doors to go in when shots were heard in the hall. People started screaming everywhere. They did not take hostages, but simply shot everyone. We ran and hid somewhere on the floor, it was very scary. At first, my son and I rushed in one direction, but there was a dead girl lying on the floor, covered in blood, and then the crowd and I ran up the other stairs. I asked them to help us get down, two men picked up the stroller with my son and ran down with him. Many thanks to those people who helped us. If I met them, I would hug each one,” Anna shared.
They managed to warn the children
According to preliminary data, the terrorists used flammable liquid to set the hall on fire. The fire was completely extinguished only in the evening of March 23.
Some visitors locked themselves in the toilets to escape the armed militants, but found themselves in danger due to the acrid black smoke that began to spread throughout the premises.
Street musician Mikhail Filippov said on his social networks that he ran to the women's toilet to get his girlfriend when he heard shooting. Together with other visitors, he locked himself there, and when the toilet filled with smoke, he began to feel his way out.
People tore their clothes, wet the rags, wrapped them around their faces, and followed each other toward the exit. The entire group was able to safely find the stairs and run out of the building. Mikhail and his girlfriend turned to doctors with carbon monoxide poisoning.
Children who participated in the Russian Dance Sports Championship could also become victims of terrorists - the competition was held in a separate room in Crocus City Hall. The participants with whom RT spoke said that because of the loud music, they did not hear any shots, explosions, or screams of people.
So far, experts have identified 50 dead.
AP
One of the first to learn about what happened was a young coach from Tyumen, said Anna Reznikova, whose children participated in the championship.
“Our coach was waiting in the hall for the children to return from the restaurant to go to the airport. She heard the first pops, and then saw people falling. She immediately ran into the hall and warned everyone. By the way, they didn’t believe her at first,” the woman said.
The coach called the children at the restaurant and told them to go outside through the emergency exit from there. Anna is sure that if not for this warning, the children would have ended up in the amphitheater, where they could have been shot by militants.
The All-Russian Federation of Dance Sports, Breaking and Acrobatic Rock and Roll reported that all participants in the championship were successfully evacuated and no one was injured.
The rubble is removed manually
After the terrorist attack, in addition to rescuers and doctors, ordinary people came to the building, ready to help the victims.
One of them was Maria and Viktor Dobryansky, who live not far from the concert hall.
“My husband and I were planning to go to the same band’s performance on March 23rd. My mother-in-law called me and said: “You won’t get to Crocus anymore.” Then we opened the news and saw what was happening there now,” Maria shared.
Maria (nurse) and Victor provided assistance to people until the morning
© RT
The couple drove to the concert hall in their car and already at the entrance they saw a girl running onto the highway, who was able to escape from the terrorists. The Dobryanskys drove her home, and then arrived at the Krasnogorsk hospital.
“It was no longer possible to get to the Crocus itself - there was just a sea of ambulances from all over the region. Therefore, my husband then worked as a free taxi driver for volunteers. I am a nurse myself, so I helped people at the hospital who came for medical care. While they were waiting for the doctors, I provided them with first aid: there were patients with poisoning, with heart problems, one pregnant girl came,” said the interlocutor, who, together with her husband, was on duty until half past four in the morning.
On the morning of March 23, Muscovites lined up at blood donation points to become donors for the victims. The Federal Medical and Biological Agency reported that medical institutions are now fully supplied with all blood components.
“Specialists at Blood Service institutions recommend refraining from unscheduled visits to donate blood and its components. If necessary, regular donors to institutions will be additionally informed,” the message says.
At the same time, the department noted that the supply of donor blood will be partially used up in seven to fourteen days, then those wishing to become donors can come back to donate.
The rubble has to be cleared using hand tools
© RIA Novosti / Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation
By the evening of March 23, employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations extinguished the open fire in Crocus. The fire area was 13 thousand square meters. m. Now rescuers are clearing out the rubble: they have to do this with the help of hand tools, because heavy equipment cannot work in such cases.
While clearing the rubble, rescuers also discovered bodies. The governor of the Moscow region said that 50 victims have now been identified, and identification continues.