Armed men kill atleast 40 people and injuring more than 100 people in a concert hall in Moscow on Friday.
They sprayed the hall with gunfire setting fire to the venue.
This comes days after president Vladimir Putin cemented his group on power.
Moscow’s mayor Sergei Sobyanin described the incident as a huge tragedy and said authorities were investigating it as terrorism.
The attack led to destruction of the concert hall leaving the hall in flames with a collapsed roof.
According to Russian news media,the attackers threw explosives triggering fire in the concert hall that can accommodate 6000 people.
The crowd was gathered in the hall for a performance by the Russian rock band picnic.
Russian news reports said the concertgoers were being evacuated but it is feared that large number of people could have been trapped by the blaze.
In videos posted by Russian media and telegram volleys of gunfire could be heard.
In one of the videos two men were seen with rifles as they moved around the hall.
Other videos showed upto four men armed with assault rifles and wearing caps who were shooting inside the concert hall.
Security guards at the concert hall didn’t have guns, and some could have been killed at the start of the attack, Russian media reported.
According to Russian news outlets,the assailants fled before special forces and riot police arrived
Russian authorities said security has been tightened at Moscow’s airports, railway stations and the capital’s sprawling subway system.
Moscow’s mayor has canceled all mass gatherings and theaters and museums shut for the weekend.
