“I thank the teams of doctors and air ambulance, members of special units, firefighters, rescuers who did everything possible to save lives, to pull people out of the fire, out of the epicenter of the fire and smoke,” Putin said in his message to the Russian population after the attack, which killed at least 115 people.

On Friday, a group of gunmen dressed in camouflage clothing unleashed a shooting at the Crocus City Hall concert hall, located in the city of Krasnogorsk in Moscow province, just minutes earlier the start of a concert by the Russian rock Picnic band.

The shooting was followed by a fire, which, according to the Emergencies Ministry, affected an area of almost 13,000 square meters.

Latest data of the Russian Investigative Committee unfolded that the incident, investigated as an attack, resulted in 115 deaths, including minors.

In turn, Editor-in-Chief of the Rossiya Segodnya media group and the RT television channel Margarita Simonian reported the death toll amounted to 143.

So far, 11 criminals involved in the attack have been arrested, including the four who opened fire on the crowd at Crocus City Hall. According to the FSB, after the attack, terrorists tried to flee to the Russian-Ukrainian border. On the other side, Kiev denied involvement in the attack.

Russian authorities called off all mass and entertainment events scheduled for the next few days. Moreover, March 24 was declared a national day of mourning for the victims.

Several world leaders stood in solidarity with the Russian people and condemned the attack in the strongest terms.

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