Moscow Massacre: Death Toll Rises to 133; Captured Terrorist Says He Was Offered US $ 5,000

by Staff Writer 23-03-2024 | 7:31 PM

COLOMBO (News 1st); The death toll in the attack on the Crocus City Hall in Moscow Region has grown to 133, Russia’s Investigative Committee said on Saturday. Emergency services continue to dig through the rubble of the building, which was partially destroyed in a massive fire sparked by the attackers.

The tally had previously stood at 115 and is feared to grow even further, given the scale of destruction inflicted on the concert hall. Over 150 people were wounded in the attack.

At least four suspects armed with assault rifles stormed the venue on Friday evening ahead of a rock concert. The attackers entered the concert hall and shot civilians on sight at point-blank range, and set it on fire.

The suspects fled the scene after the attack, but were eventually apprehended by Russian law enforcement near the country’s border in Bryansk Region. According to preliminary findings, the attackers were seeking to cross into Ukraine.

RT’s editor-in-chief posted a video clip of the interrogation of one of the suspected terrorists behind Friday’s shooting spree at Crocus City concert hall near Moscow. Earlier on Saturday, Russia’s FSB security service confirmed that eleven suspects, including four of the alleged perpetrators, had been detained in Bryansk Region, not far from the Ukrainian border.

The footage shows a bearded man lying on the ground and describing in broken Russian how he’d been paid to commit the terrorist attack.

The man says that before committing Friday’s atrocity, he had been to Türkiye. When asked what he did at the Crocus City concert venue on Friday evening, he replied: “I shot down... people.” The suspect added that he had committed the crime “for money,” detailing that he had been promised 500,000 rubles ($5,418).

The alleged perpetrator claimed that half the sum had already been transferred to his debit card.

The man also said that the curators, whom he supposedly does not know personally, had contacted him via Telegram messaging app, and arranged an arms cache for the assailants.