Russian media say gunmen killed several dozens of people at a concert hall on the outskirts of Moscow. An ISIS terrorist group has claimed responsibility.
SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Russian authorities say they’ve arrested the gunmen who opened fire in a crowded concert hall just outside Moscow last night, killing over 100 people in the gunfire and the blaze set off by their explosive devices. An offshoot of ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack. Russian authorities claim the men were arrested on their way to the Ukrainian border. The attack has been condemned by leaders around the world. NPR’s Charles Maynes went to the scene of the attack and joins us now. Charles, thanks so much for being with us.
CHARLES MAYNES, BYLINE: Good morning.
SIMON: What did you see and hear?
MAYNES: Well, this morning I was at at Crocus City Hall. This is the concert venue where this terrible attack took place.
(SOUNDBITE OF HELICOPTERS FLYING)
MAYNES: And amid a heavy police presence – you can hear the helicopters hovering overhead – Russians were bringing flowers to an impromptu memorial set off to the side of this massive entertainment complex. Among them a gentleman I met named Anatoly (ph), who declined to provide his last name, given we were surrounded by security agents. But it turns out he used to work at the Crocus venue.
ANATOLY: (Speaking Russian).
MAYNES: So here, Anatoly says he knew a lot of the people working at the event last night and felt obligated to pay his respects. Some, he said, might be injured, others dead. And he called this all a big tragedy, which, of course, it is.
SIMON: What happened last night? What do we know?
MAYNES: Well, the attackers, who Russian authorities say were four in number – although some videos suggest perhaps another fifth attacker – they entered the venue armed with Kalashnikovs and explosives, shortly before a sold-out concert by a veteran Soviet-era rock band called Picnic. Witness video…
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