On March 23, 2024, a coordinated attack unfolded at the Crocus City Hall music venue in Krasnogorsk, Russia, situated on the western edge of Moscow. The assailants, four gunmen, carried out a mass shooting, along with slashing attacks on the people gathered at the venue.
Additionally, they used incendiary devices to set the venue ablaze. This horrific incident resulted in the tragic loss of 133 lives and left many more wounded.
The four were formally charged Sunday in Moscow's Basmanny District Court with committing a group terrorist attack resulting in deaths. https://t.co/RmAGWbsefM
— ABC 7 Chicago (@ABC7Chicago) March 24, 2024
During a recent court appearance, three out of the four suspects, all of whom are Tajikistan citizens, pleaded guilty to their involvement in this carnage. The court has ordered that these individuals be held in pre-trial custody until May 22.
ALSO READ | Moscow attack: Video shows terrorists shot people point-blank, threw incendiary bombs
On Saturday along with seven others the four suspects were arrested for their involvement with the attack which was claimed by the Islamic State-Khorasan, the terrorist group’s regional arm active in South-Central Asia, primarily Afghanistan.
The four suspects involved — Dalerdzhon Mirzoyev (32), Saidakrami Rachabalizoda (30), Mukhammadsobir Faizov (19), Shamsidin Fariduni (25). These individuals have been formally charged by the Basmanny District Court in Moscow with committing a group terrorist attack resulting in the death of others. This charge carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
Mirzoyev, Rachabalizoda, and Fariduni are the three suspects who pleaded guilty. Meanwhile, Faizov, the fourth suspect, was brought to the courtroom in a wheelchair, wearing a hospital gown with multiple cuts. During the hearing, he received medical attention.
https://twitter.com/stillgray/status/1772020142891061579
In addition to Mirzoyev, Rachabalizoda, and Fariduni, the three other suspects also displayed visible bruising and heavily swollen faces. Reports in the Russian media suggest that they were subjected to torture during interrogation.
ALSO READ | Deadly Gunmen Attack at Moscow Concert Hall Leaves Over 60 Dead and 145 Injured
During the court proceedings, Saidakrami Rachabalizoda, one of the suspects appeared with a heavily bandaged ear. Russian media had previously reported that one of the suspects had their ear cut off during interrogation, According to The AP. Indeed, these reports remain unverified and their authenticity remains uncertain.
https://twitter.com/EmekaGift100/status/1772030085073174564
During the weekend, Russian state-run Channel One television broadcasted footage showing the four suspects being detained and interrogated by authorities.
According to Channel One, the suspects were apprehended in Khatsun village, situated in the Bryansk region, near the Russia-Belarus border. The AFP news agency also reported on this development.
During the interrogation, one of the suspects was questioned about his actions at the concert hall. His response was chilling: “I shot people… for money.” Speaking in broken English, the man further revealed that he had been offered “half a million rubles” (equivalent to $5,425) and had already received half of the payment.
According to Sky News reported. Russian Telegram channels have disseminated footage showing a man emerging from a forest, his face bloodied, presumably due to an injury to his ear.
On Saturday, the Islamic State disseminated a photo and bodycam footage allegedly depicting the March 23 Crocus City Hall shooting. This incident is being referred to as the most lethal attack in Russia in the past two decades.
According to the Amaq agency, a terrorist group’s communication channel, the photo in question allegedly depicts the four suspects who rampaged into the Moscow concert hall. Their actions involved a fierce barrage of gunfire and the ignition of the venue, resulting in a blazing inferno.
“The attack comes within the context of a raging war between the Islamic State and countries fighting Islam,” the Reuters news agency quoted Amaq as saying in a statement citing security sources.
The group, which previously aimed to exert dominance over large portions of Iraq and Syria, has now unveiled video footage of the assault. According to Amaq, this footage was captured by the assailants while they were en route to perpetrate the attack.
The video, disseminated via the group’s Telegram channels, features three individuals: one carrying a backpack, another wielding a knife, and a third brandishing a rifle.
As Russia observed a national day of mourning on Sunday, the suspects made their court appearance.
In his public address, Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned the barbaric act of terrorism that unfolded during the concert hall massacre near Moscow. He vowed to punish the perpetrators responsible for the deadly attack, as well as those involved in organizing and ordering it.
“We will identify and punish everyone who stands behind the terrorists who prepared this atrocity, this strike against Russia, against our people,” he said on Saturday.
In response to the concert hall massacre, Russian President Vladimir Putin asserted that the assailants attempted to conceal their identities and fled towards Ukraine.
However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy swiftly rejected any connection to the terrorist attack, accusing Putin and his associates of shifting blame onto others.
In the wake of the concert hall tragedy, Russia has taken somber measures: cultural events have been canceled, and flags across the country have been lowered as a mark of respect.
Meanwhile, grieving citizens have been flocking to a makeshift memorial near the concert hall. There, they leave flowers and other poignant tributes to honor the memory of the victims.
ALSO READ | ISIS Releases Terrifying Graphic Footage of Moscow Terror Attack