Photo appears to show suspected concert hall gunman at venue two weeks prior to Moscow attack

A photograph has emerged online of one of the suspected perpetrators of the Moscow concert hall terror attack that was apparently taken during a visit to Crocus City Hall two weeks prior to the deadliest shooting to have occurred in Russia for 20 years.

Pro-Kremlin Telegram channels reported that the man, who said his name was Fariduni Shamsidin, attended a performance at the concert venue on 7 March, according to Baza.

The photographer who took the picture recognised the suspect when a video of his interrogation was posted on Saturday. Telegram channel 112 speculated that the detainee had visited Crocus City Hall to “see the layout, the location of security posts and devise escape routes”.

The involvement of Islamic State (IS) in the attack appeared to be backed up by a video of the attack apparently shot by the shooters and released by the IS-affiliated Amak news agency.

In addition to the cameraman, two gunmen can be seen, one with a knife and the other with what appears to be an AK-12 assault rifle. The clothes worn by the attackers in the video appear to match those worn by the suspects subsequently detained by security forces.

On 7 March, the US Embassy in Moscow warned of a heightened risk of terror attacks in the Russian capital within the next 48 hours in places of mass gatherings, including concert venues. Later, similar warnings were issued by the UK, German and Canadian Embassies.

Russian President Vladimir Putin subsequently called the West’s warnings “blatant blackmail” that he said was intended to “intimidate and destabilise society”. Russian security services later described the warnings as “general in nature”.