Following Friday night’s deadly attack on a concert outside Moscow, Russia observed a day of mourning by lowering flags to half-mast. According to Reuters, four men have been charged with the attack, which is believed to be the deadliest inside Russia in two decades. President Vladimir Putin declared Sunday a national day of mourning and promised to punish all those responsible for the attack. The incident killed 137 people, including three children, and injured 182.
More than 100 people remain hospitalized, with some in critical condition. On Sunday evening, video footage showed a solemn Putin lighting a candle at a church outside his Moscow residence to honor those who died.
Earlier on Sunday, people laid flowers at Crocus City Hall, a 6,200-seat concert hall outside Moscow where four armed men barged in just before the Soviet-era rock band Picnic was set to perform its hit “Afraid of Nothing.” The gunmen fired short bursts of gunfire at civilians, causing panic and screams from the crowd.
The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Putin has not publicly linked the Islamist militant group to the attackers. Instead, he said the attackers were attempting to flee to Ukraine. Putin stated that some people on “the Ukrainian side” were willing to help the gunmen cross the border.
Ukraine denied any involvement in the attack.
On Sunday, Moscow’s Basmanny district court charged four suspects with terrorist acts related to the attack. According to Reuters, the suspects were identified as Dalerdzhon Mirzoyev, Saidakrami Rachabalizoda, Shamsidin Fariduni, and Muhammadsobir Fayzov on the official Telegram channel of Moscow courts.
According to Russian media reports, the men, who are all Tajik citizens residing in Russia, have been remanded in pre-trial custody until May 22. Three of the four suspects pleaded guilty to all charges.
Following the release of unverified and brutal interrogation videos on social media, Russian media published images from the courtroom depicting disturbing scenes: one suspect was wheeled in on a wheelchair, appearing to be missing an eye; another had a bandage where his right ear should be; a third had a black eye with a ripped plastic bag around his neck; and the fourth suspect, with a swollen face, appeared disoriented and struggled to keep his eyes open.