The terrorists who attacked Crocus City Hall in Moscow Region on Friday evening planned to flee to Ukraine, the FSB security service said in a statement on Saturday.
Four assailants were apprehended in Bryansk Region near the border, and are being transported to Moscow. According to the FSB, the terrorists – who have left 137 people dead – had contacts on Ukrainian soil.
“After committing the crime, the perpetrators attempted to flee, driving in a car in the direction of the Russia-Ukraine border,” the authorities stated. However, “all four [suspected] terrorists” were detained within several hours.
Seven other people have been apprehended following the mass shooting, the security service said. The attack was meticulously planned, with a cache of weapons amassed beforehand, the statement added.
The investigation is ongoing, with the security service working to determine all circumstances surrounding the incident.
The tragic events unfolded on Friday evening at Crocus City Hall in Krasnogorsk, on the western outskirts of the Russian capital. The concert venue, with an estimated capacity of 7,500, was almost full when the terrorists struck.
After firing indiscriminately with assault rifles at the fleeing crowd of panicked visitors, the assailants then set fire to rows of chairs inside the concert hall. The blaze quickly engulfed much of the building, including its roof.