A group of armed men burst into the Crocus City Hall concert hall around 8 p.m. on March 22 and started shooting everyone in sight. Soon, the building was on fire. At the time of this reporting, officials have confirmed the deaths of more than 60 people in the gunfire and blaze, and more than 100 others have been hospitalized with injuries. It’s still unclear who carried out this terrorist attack, though U.S. officials reportedly have intelligence confirming that Islamic State-Khorasan, known as ISIS-K, is responsible. A Meduza correspondent was on the ground outside Crocus City Hall immediately after reports of the attack.
Helicopters circle in the night sky above Crocus City Hall. Every 30 seconds, another one drops water on the collapsed, burning roof. Beneath the inferno lies a concert hall that was meant to host tonight’s performance by the Russian rock band Piknic.
Ambulances from Moscow, one after another, speed toward the scene as police officers crowd the nearest subway stations. Two hours after the attack, four young men wearing gray berets and bulletproof vests guard the central platform at the Strogino station. Their arm patches and the red letter “M” peeking out on their uniforms mark them as members of the city’s Departmental Security Service, otherwise known as “Mayor Sobyanin’s Special Forces.”
Dozens of officers carrying batons stand guard, scanning their surroundings. Through the radio static, a voice rings out: “Be on the lookout for a white vehicle [hiss] six, six, eight, uniform, mike, [hiss] region. Copy."
Officers begin to close off the subway exit toward Crocus City Hall. The farther exit remains open, but approaching the burning building is still impossible. The police have cordoned off the entire complex. The air is filled with the acrid smell of burning plastic, and loud pops can be heard.
Eventually, police officers begin pushing the onlooking crowd as far back as the Vegas Shopping Center, almost 900 yards away. Several people try to run toward Crocus City Hall, evading the police, but they’re caught and released (after a tense conversation).
At the Vegas mall, onlookers talk about friends who’d planned to attend the Piknik concert. People tell each other that the attack was, “of course, the work of the Ukrainians.” Two men in plain clothes suddenly grab someone and drag him toward the subway station. Ten minutes later, they return and blend into the crowd.
“I came here thinking help was needed, to drag someone away or something. But these guys!” a tall young man says bitterly, pointing at the officers guarding the police line. After another minute, he approaches one of the officers, but their conversation ends after 10 seconds. He walks back from the police tape, his head held low.
Farther from the building’s entrance, the police presence is smaller. Here, several men in plain clothes argue loudly about how far the shooters were from their victims. After a journalist begins filming their conversation, one of the men notices and turns to the reporter, demanding, “Delete it, and we’ll let you go.” When the journalist asks, “And who are you?” the other man answers, “You’re about to find out who,” and explains how he can simply take the reporter’s phone.
After the journalist deletes the video, the plainclothes officers head towards the fire, moving behind police lines. By now, a video billboard not far from Crocus City Hall displays one of the virtual candles and the “We mourn, March 22, 2024” message spreading across Moscow.
Police officers have erected checkpoints on the Moscow Ring Road, stopping vehicles and inspecting their trunks with flashlights. Traffic police are also active on the other side of the Ring Road, opposite Crocus City Hall. “Young man, aren’t you scared?” one officer asks Meduza’s correspondent. “Get out of here!”
Subway passengers leaving the Myakinino station must pass through two police lines. At the first checkpoint, officers ask people to turn out their bags. At the second stop, there’s a brief conversation.
“Where are you coming from?” an officer asks a young woman.
“From my home! Ilyinsky Boulevard, building 7," she answers, clearly frightened.
“From home…” the officer says thoughtfully. “Alright, move along,” he adds and turns to Meduza’s correspondent. “Greetings!” he says. “Were you a witness to any events? Did you see anything suspicious?”