Another suspect arrested in connection with Moscow terrorist attack
Moscow’s Basmanny District Court has placed a ninth suspect under arrest in connection with last week’s Crocus City Hall terrorist attack. Nazrimad Lutfulloi, a Tajikistani native, will remain in custody until May 22, according to the court’s ruling.
Lutfulloi was detained by law enforcement near Crocus City Hall on March 23 – one day after the deadly shooting that claimed the lives of more than 140 people. When police officers asked him to show identification, the suspect allegedly started to behave violently, did not respond to police commands, and insulted the security forces.
On March 25, Moscow’s Preobrazhensky Court arrested Lutfulloi for 15 days for petty hooliganism. He pleaded guilty to the charge.
Several days later, however, Russia’s Investigative Committee asked the court to place the Tajikistani national under arrest as a suspect in the Crocus City Hall attack, accusing him of being involved in funding the terrorists.
The Basmanny court had previously approved the arrest of four men believed to have carried out last Friday’s attack, as well as four others who are accused of aiding the terrorists by providing them with a vehicle and renting them an apartment.
Investigators have confirmed that 11 people have been detained in relation to the attack.
On the evening of March 22, a group of gunmen armed with assault rifles attacked the Crocus City Hall venue in the Moscow suburb of Krasnogorsk, just before a concert by the rock band Picnic was due to start. The venue, with an estimated capacity of 7,500, was almost full at the time of the attack. The terrorists killed the guards, shot concert-goers on sight, then started a fire that quickly spread throughout the building.
At least 144 people, including three children, were killed in the attack, Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko reported on Friday. Another 382 people are believed to have been injured, according to the latest media reports.
