Bullets, a crush and panic: Moscow concert that became a massacre

Some 6,200 tickets had been sold for the concert, but security outside the entrance quickly melted away. The gunmen had just walked across the concourse outside the theatre, opening fire at random, killing and wounding members of the public as they walked in. WARNING: Some of the details of this story are graphic. Four suspects arrested, says Russia - follow events LIVE.

Many of those killed and wounded came from Krasnogorsk, Khimki and other nearby towns on Moscow north-western fringe. One of four guards said his colleagues hid behind an advertising board. One woman was with her 11-year-old daughter, buying ice cream at a café near the entrance, when they heard the noise and someone shouted to get down on the floor. The fourth man hands him his weapon and they walk through the unguarded metal detectors towards the auditorium.

Margarita Bunova had just got hold of opera glasses for the show when she heard what she thought were firecrackers. Eyewitnesses said there were elderly people as well as children there, all caught up in the attack. Some in the theatre tried to lie down between the seats, but with several gunmen opening fire in the stalls, that offered little protection. One man in a VIP box told how he and others barricaded themselves in only to find smoke billowing through the theatre.

Another man, Vitaly, saw the attack unfolding from a balcony: They threw some petrol bombs, everything started burning. we could still hear bursts of shooting behind us by the time we got out. Survivors make it to the relative safety of the back of the building. Some sit huddled and others hold on to each other as they file through corridors.

One man was seen retching, while others phoned loved ones and walked away. Eva, an assistant to a dance group, was backstage when the attackers burst in. Jihadist group Islamic State said in a brief statement that it was behind the attack. A picture of a white Renault car with two occupants appeared on social media channels linked to Russia.

The oldest victim was in her 70s, while children were also among the dead and wounded. Ukraine quickly denied any involvement, insisting its attacks were confined to the battlefield. Russia’s FSB security service claimed the perpetrators had sought to cross Russia into Ukraine and had contacts there. A number of people have been detained, including four alleged attackers, says the FSB.

The president compared the killers to the Nazis of World War Two. A national day of mourning will take place on Sunday.