Moscow court remands four suspects in concert hall massacre in custody
Four gunmen accused of massacring scores of people at a concert hall in the Russian capital city of Moscow have been remanded in custody as the country observed a national day of mourning for the victims.
According to a Sunday statement by Moscow's Basmanny district court, all four suspects have been charged with terrorism and face life imprisonment.
The court said their detention will continue until May 22, but may be extended depending on the date of their trial.
It added that two of the gunmen have pleaded guilty and one of them has "entirely acknowledged his guilt."
According to Russia’s Investigation Committee, at least 137 people, including three children, were killed and more than 150 injured when the four gunmen stormed the Crocus City Hall in Moscow's northern suburb of Krasnogorsk on Friday evening and shot civilians at point-blank range before setting fire to the building.
The committee has said that the death toll is feared to rise further given the scale of destruction inflicted on the Crocus City Hall.
Following the massacre, the suspects fled the scene but were later apprehended by Russian law enforcement near the Ukrainian border. The Russian authorities said preliminary findings showed that the attackers were attempting to cross into Ukraine.
The Daesh Takfiri terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the massacre, saying that its members attacked the concert hall on the outskirts of Moscow, "killing and wounding hundreds and causing great destruction to the place before they withdrew to their bases safely."
On Saturday, it released a photograph of what it said were the four attackers.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has pledged to track down and punish those behind the “bloody and barbaric” terrorist attack.
In a televised address on Saturday, Putin said 11 people had been arrested, including the four gunmen who carried out the attack.
"They tried to hide and moved towards Ukraine, where, according to preliminary data, a window was prepared for them on the Ukrainian side to cross the state border," he said, adding that “all the perpetrators, organizers and those who ordered this crime will be justly and inevitably punished.”
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