Russia Moscow attack woman shares story of being trapped in Crocus Hall shooting
The survivors of last Friday’s terrorist attack on Russia’s Crocus City Hall will not have an easy recovery in the near future, and Russian artist Alyona Kazinskaya is one of them.
Her social media feed, which usually consists of joyful messages and vivid floral pictures, turned into a timeline of terror when she and her friends got caught up in the shooting.
At least 143 people have been confirmed dead after armed attackers opened fire at the Crocus City Hall near Moscow, for which Islamic State militants have claimed responsibility.
Gunshots, no special effects
Kazinskaya and her friend bought last-minute tickets to attend a concert by the Soviet-era rock group “Picnic” in front of 6,200 people at the concert hall. He told Reuters in an interview that he first thought about taking his daughters along but then decided to go on his own.
At 8:10 p.m., Kazinskaya posted her first 10-second audio message on her Telegram channel, in which she was breathing heavily and sounding frightened amid the loud sound of gunfire.
“I love you all. I’m at the Crocus City Hall – Picnic. They’re shooting up the concert here. I’m in the hall. Call the police.”
Kazinskaya said she quickly realized that the sounds she heard were not special effects, but gunshots. He along with his friend tried to help the people nearby, but the exit was already closed.
“We tried to wake people up, we lifted them, but people had already run to the exit and we couldn’t get out. At the same time they (the gunmen) burst into the hall. Then I threw my friend on the floor. Gave and I said let’s crawl,” he said.
Trembling fingers, flailing messages
The first thought in his mind was to get out of the hall at any cost. “My second thought was that I’m wearing white, I’m a good target,” he said.
“And finally, the third thought was that I’m going to write something now – yes I’m scared but I’m going to put these messages in my (Telegram) channel because that way someone, somewhere, for sure Will hear them, find them and call someone.”
With trembling fingers, she traced the letters on her phone to type three messages one after the other.
“Please call the police!!!!!”
“Crocus City Hall”
“Shooting”
By now both of them had managed to escape from the hall but were still trapped in the building. By then the shooting had stopped but a new threat emerged.
8:17 PM One word audio message. “Fire!”
‘I love you. goodbye’
The two friends took shelter in the toilet, trying to escape half a dozen times. But when everything was surrounded by smoke, they could not see anything and had to retreat.
At this point, Kazinskaya began to lose hope and at 8:23 p.m., sent a four-second audio message, believing it to be her last: “I love you. Goodbye.”
Kazinskaya and her friend later managed to escape from the building with others. She says it will be a long time before she can go to clubs or big concerts again. “I think society needs to be kinder to itself,” he said. “Because when something bad happens we remember that we are human, but we need to remain human every day.”