Eyewitness Account of Moscow Concert Hall Terrorist Attack

Everything started around 7:55 p.m. (local time) when the show was yet to begin and, by Krutov’s estimates, the venue was about two-thirds full, with many members of the audience in no rush to take their seats.

The terrorists burst inside the venue through a first-floor door and immediately started shooting people, he said.

While people below them ran for their lives, Krutov and others on the balcony waited for the opportunity to slip away before quietly moving toward the emergency exits.

He also mentioned that the venue’s security staff did not desert their posts when the shooting started – they opened the emergency exits and helped direct the fleeing bystanders to safety.

A total of eleven suspects, including the four suspected gunmen, have been detained by Russian authorities in the aftermath of the attack. The four who reportedly carried out the shooting were caught while trying to flee towards the border with Ukraine.

Emergency services personnel have since moved to sift through the rubble at the Crocus City Hall building, which was devastated by the fire, looking for victims’ bodies.