our russia editor steve rosenberg has more. all we know is that this evening, shortly before the start of a rock concert, 3 number of gunmen stormed into the concert hall, crocus city hall, which is near moscow, quite a prominent concert venue, and began shooting. we don't know yet how many gunmen there were or there are. some reports say at least four orfive, possibly more. we don't have any official figures yet about casualties, how many people were killed or injured? there have been all kinds of reports on social media. we do know that 70 ambulances were called to the scene, which gives some idea of the concern that casualty figures could be high after this shooting and the situation still continuing. so the latest information is that a number of special force groups

have gone into the building, have stormed the building. the building is on fire. crocus city hall is on fire. some reports say there's concern that one of the floors could collapse and concern that there are still people trapped inside. so this is very much, as you say, an ongoing situation. the moscow mayor, sergei sobyanin, has called this a terrible tragedy. the russian foreign ministry has called it a bloody terrorist attack. all sporting, cultural events, mass public events have been cancelled in moscow in light of this and security has been stepped up at airports and train stations, places like that. and some reports suggest that possibly at least one of the gunmen may have escaped and is being looked for now by police. again, a chaotic situation, not clear exactly what is happening right now.

what is clear is that there are going to be a lot of casualties from this and certainly a shocking incident in moscow tonight. within the last few minutes, it has been announced that children have been announced that children have been killed in that shooting incident in the crocus city hall near moscow, according to a russian media outlet who are quoting a lawmaker in the state, the lower house of parliament, so children were among those killed in that shooting incident at crocus city hall, we know either moment death toll given out by the russian authorities, the fsb, is around a0 people killed and 100 injured, and it now appears children were among the victims, and we think around 6500 people could be in the concert hall, the number of tickets sold for

the concert. another bit of breaking news, we have had a clean from the islamic state who have claimed responsibility for the attack on the concert hall as our security correspondent said recently, they have in the past claimed responsibility for things they haven't done, but that is being taken at the stage with a pinch of salt, but that is latest, a claim of responsible to eat for the attack by the islamic state. the white house national security spokesman —john kirby — has been asked about the shooting at a briefing this evening obviously we have all seen the reports and the video coming out of moscow. violent shooting at what looks like a shopping mall. can't speak much to the details of it. i mean, this was alljust breaking before i came one out here so we are trying to get more information. but i really would prefer russian authorities to speak to it. the images were just horrible and just hard to watch and our thoughts obviously

are going to be with the victims of this terrible, terrible shooting attack. and i think, you know, you look at the video, if you have, and you've got to recognise that there are some moms and dads and brothers and sisters and sons and daughters that haven't gotten the news yet. this is going to be a tough day so our thoughts are with them. you might have also hopefully seen our state department, our embassy there, put out a notice to all americans in moscow to avoid any large gatherings, concerts, obviously shopping malls. a little earlier we heard from konstantin eggert, a russian columnist at deutshe well and a contributor to tv rain — russia's independent tv channel. he started by describing the concert hall. what we see is that this building, and i've been to it quite a few times in my life, it is a very big concert venue with several thousand seats and a shopping centre. so it seems the roof has caved in.

what we have also seen is unverified video of a person being arrested or detained near the site. and of course what we see now is basically two waves on social media and unofficial channels. 0n the official kremlin sort of media you have calls for vengeance against the so far unnamed terrorists. 0n the independent russian media which is now mostly based in exile outside of russia there are comparisons to the infamous 1999 uninvestigated apartment building bombings in moscow which led also to dozens of deaths and which propelled vladimir putin as a kind of strong leader that can win the war in chechnya at the time. so you have these two narratives.

and just as we speak, i see a post by all the telegram accounts by dmitry medvedev, the former president, who is already saying that if we learn that these terrorists are terrorists from kyiv we should deal with them accordingly and all of them should be eliminated, including the officials that sanctioned this, or rather which perpetrated this". so you see the atmosphere is basically becoming very heated, i would say. 0ur bbc verify team has been checking the footage coming out of moscow — merlyn thomas gave us this update. people have been filming the dramatic events on their phones and posting them on social media channels. so let me show you what we have been looking at. this video begins as people start leaving the hall. and something appears to have gone very wrong. you suddenly hear gunshots and people running. it's difficult at this point to know

how many people are involved in this incident but in this video you can see many people in the hall. screams begin to ring out and you can hear people shouting "close the door". and people then begin to fall onto the floor, hiding behind the chairs. and then gunshots continue to be heard inside the hole. as you can see there are scenes of panic and people trying to escape. now, here is another video we verified. this is from outside the hall. you can see there is a significant part of the building on fire with smoke, plumes of smoke rising. and we have seen another video from a different angle, again showing the outside of the building, again on fire. now, witnesses have said that the shooting started in the foyer. we have also seen another video with four gun men which is too graphic to show you. in it you can see people shooting with several casualties on the floor. it is worth noting that a few weeks ago the us embassy in moscow had issued a warning for people to avoid crowded places in the capital city. we have also seen reports of another explosion inside the hall and that

some of the gunmen had barricaded themselves inside. as i said, this is a developing news story and we will continue to verify more footage as we get it. that was merlin thomas reporting. returning to our top story. we're bringing you special coverage of an announcement by the princess of wales — in which she said she was undergoing preventative treatment for cancer. it comes after she had stepped back from public life, to take time to recover after undergoing abdominal surgery. catherine says that although it was thought at the time that her condition was non—cancerous, tests had found cancer had been present, and she is in the early stages of a course of preventative chemotherapy. here's her video statement in full. i wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you personally for all the wonderful messages of support and for your understanding whilst i've been recovering from surgery. it has been an incredibly tough couple of months for our entire family, but i've had a fantastic medical team who've taken great care of me,

for which i'm so grateful. injanuary, i underwent major abdominal surgery in london, and at the time, it was thought that my condition was non—cancerous. the surgery was successful. however, tests after the operation found cancer had been present. my medical team therefore advised that i should undergo a course of preventative chemotherapy, and i'm now in the early stages of that treatment. this of course came as a huge shock, and william and i have been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family. as you can imagine, this has taken time. it has taken me time to recover from major surgery in order to start my treatment. but most importantly, it has taken us time to explain everything to george, charlotte and louis in a way that's appropriate for them, and to reassure them that i'm going to be ok. as i've said to them, i am well, and getting stronger every day

by focusing on the things that will help me heal, in my mind, body and spirit. having william by my side is a great source of comfort and reassurance, too, as is the love, support and kindness that has been shown by so many of you. it means so much to us both. we hope that you'll understand that, as a family, we now need some time, space and privacy while i complete my treatment. my work has always brought me a deep sense ofjoy, and i look forward to being back when i'm able. but for now, i must focus on making a full recovery. at this time, i'm also thinking of all those whose lives have been affected by cancer. for everyone facing this disease, in whateverform, please do not lose faith or hope. you are not alone. 0ur correspondent helena wilkinson

is in windsorfor us. it was filmed there, a personal statement and a strong appeal for privacy will stop and incredibly personal statement. fin privacy will stop and incredibly personal statement. an incredibly ersonal personal statement. an incredibly personal statement _ personal statement. an incredibly personal statement from - personal statement. an incredibly personal statement from the - personal statement. an incredibly - personal statement from the princess of wales which has gone around the world, will be one of shock for many people to hear that the princess of wales has got kansas —— cancer, is in the early stages of preventative chemotherapy she's go undergoing at the moment, we understand it begun towards the end of last month, in february, but also that very strong wish and desire, understandably, for her and prince william and of course and most importantly, she said in her statement, their three young children, george and charlotte's and louis, who were told about the news a little while ago, so that they have had some time to come to terms

with it and try to understand it and catherine and prince william have had to make them and help them understand what must be a confusing time or the children, and the couple felt today, this evening, earlier on, with the right time for the news to be made public entities the start of the easter holidays and for the three children, so they will not be at school with out this news has been made public. the family lived here in windsor, about half a mile from where we are in the grounds of windsor castle in adelaide cottage, secluded, they have privacy there, but they have very much stressed the want that privacy while catherine continues with the chemotherapy and also to come to terms herself with her diagnosis. we also to come to terms herself with her diagnosis-_ her diagnosis. we have heard reaction from _ her diagnosis. we have heard reaction from in _ her diagnosis. we have heard reaction from in number - her diagnosis. we have heard reaction from in number of i her diagnosis. we have heard - reaction from in number of quarters, including the british minister

saying, sending his support, but also that she should be afforded by the seat to focus on her treatment and he talked about recent weeks she has been subjected to intense scrutiny and subjected to unfair treatment by some scrutiny by the media and it was unprecedented, really what was going on online about her?— really what was going on online about her? since her operation, which she _ about her? since her operation, which she this _ about her? since her operation, which she this evening - about her? since her operation, which she this evening because | about her? since her operation, i which she this evening because the major abdominal surgery injanuary major abdominal surgery in january at the major abdominal surgery injanuary at the hospital in london, since then there is a been a huge amount of speculation, particularly online, a lot of it wild speculation about her health, so what the will be hoping for now is that the news of her cancer diagnosis is public that people that will give them that privacy. in terms of other reaction, buckingham palace released a statement a bit earlier on from the king, sandy king is so proud of

catherine for her courage in speaking as she did and remains in the closest contact with his beloved daughter—in—law, and in the last hour or so, there has been a statement from the duke and duchess of sussex, and in that statement the couple says they wish health and healing for kate and the family and hope they are able to do so avidly and in peace. so, lots of reaction from many people across the world which in the princess of wales good health in her recovery going forward. �* ., forward. and he said time for the whole of the _ forward. and he said time for the whole of the royal _ forward. and he said time for the whole of the royal family - forward. and he said time for the| whole of the royal family because of the king is also being treated for cancer, tell us what it will mean for who carries out the duties they will normally carry out? i for who carries out the duties they will normally carry out?— will normally carry out? i lots of that has fallen _ will normally carry out? i lots of that has fallen onto _ will normally carry out? i lots of that has fallen onto members i will normally carry out? i lots ofj that has fallen onto members of will normally carry out? i lots of - that has fallen onto members of the royal family, that has fallen onto members of the royalfamily, in particular prince william mark but you recalled after his wife had the abdominal surgery, he took some time and stepped back from public duties in order to be

with her and have her and be around the children as well. but he has been seen carrying out public duties and we now know he has been doing that knowing catherine potts michael cancer diagnosis but the duties, a lot of them will fall on prince william we know going forward he wants to be as close to catherine as possible as she continues her preventative chemotherapy but also he will be carrying out public duties. 0ther he will be carrying out public duties. other members of the royal family because of the kings cancer diagnosis will likely take on more of those duties on their behalf. helena wilkinson in windsor, thank you. james middleton — the brother of princess catherine — has posted this message of support on instagram. "over the years, we have climbed many mountains together. as a family, we will climb this one with you too." the announcement by catherine,

the princess of wales, that she is undergoing preventative chemotherapy treatment, came after much speculation about her well—being, following her abdominal surgery earlier this year. 0ur royal correspondent daniella relph has the latest. this was the last official footage of the princess of wales with the royal family on christmas day at sandringham with her three children, who she is now so keen to protect. after going public with news of her diagnosis back in december. all seemed well as she spoke to the crowd. thank you so much. that's very sweet of you to come and say hello to us. yeah, we'll have very happy christmas. but three weeks later, she was admitted to hospital for major abdominal surgery. it was in her post—operative tests that signs of cancer were found. the clamour for information about the princess's condition has been intense. this footage, published earlier this week, filmed by a member of the public, showed her shopping in windsor with her husband last weekend, and this photo released on mother's

day to ease some of the public speculation did the opposite, with the princess issuing a statement to say she had made some edits to the image. a turning point appears to have been this thanksgiving service in windsor for king constantine of greece at the end of february. the rest of the royal family were there, but the prince of wales pulled out that morning very suddenly due to a personal matter. we now know this was around the time the princess was diagnosed and began her treatment. it has been an incredibly turbulent time for the family. the couple's priority has been to protect their children and ensure they have time to explain what's wrong to prince george, princess charlotte and prince louis. they now hope the speculation and rumours will stop as they spend time privately as a family for the easter holiday. the princess won't be back to a full programme of public duty for some time. we may see her occasionally, but only when her medical team have approved. for now, the princess of wales wants time, space and privacy to deal with her diagnosis and recovery.

daniela ralph, bbc news. the church of england has issued a special prayer for princess catherine. it says the church is praying for the continued recovery of the princess of wales, for her husband, and for their family. princess catherine says she has started a course of preventative chemotherapy. earlier my colleague ben thompson spoke to professor pat price — one of the uk's leading oncologists, and chair of the charity radiotherapy uk — and asked her what she thought of the princess' decision to make her treatment public. 0h, she is amazing. that was so, such a beautiful interview. she has done so well, so much. she's had to go through with her

family and everything now. so it's a positive message and that sharing it with others, all the people out there who have similarly got problems, they know they're not alone. and hopefully now this will get cancer right at the top of the agenda. one in two get cancer. she's so brave. yes. and i'm sure you've had to tell people terrible news like this in your own career. and it is a major trauma. it is a major undertaking, and it is a huge challenge mentally and physically. one would assume. this is an important life moment, but one certainly if we read into the tone of this message that she is tackling head on. yeah, i think that's right. and i think it is it's about fear of the unknown is the worst thing. it's about sitting with it, coming to terms with it, and then just moving positively on. she's obviously needs some time and space. she's just recovered from surgery. she's then had the shocking news. she thought it was benign and then found out it isn't. her first thoughts will be her children and then her husband. and then now she's actually got to go through some more treatment, which will be difficult. but we advise patients to just sit with it, come to terms with it, think through it.

and for people who are around them, don't be frightened. don't not say anything, don't treat people differently. just sometimes sit with them. just say i'm there. you can't always make it better, but you can just be with people. and that's her message. and gosh, so brave. and i think as a nation, if we were there all supporting her, that would give her huge strength. yes. at times like this, of course, the focus is on the person undergoing the treatment. but you touched on it there, the impact that this also has on the wider family. and i ask you specifically, of course, too, given that we know king charles also undergoing treatment for cancer, therefore hugely shocking news for the family as a whole. what impact could this have on them? i think obviously they've got a lot to deal with at the moment and i think they need to be given time and space. hopefully, though, if cancer turns out to be ok for people, that often gives people a greater understanding with other people of resetting your priorities.

seeing what's important and what's not important, the love you have for your family puts everything in context so there can be some good things. i know it sounds awful to say, but there can be some really good and positive things to come out of this. yes. and also just a word on survival rates and success rates when cancer is caught early and in someone still so young. yes, once it's caught early, then that usually when we can cure things. so that is the best thing. so we would encourage people to present early with symptoms. and hopefully as this has been caught early, she'll be ok. i hope so. that was professor pat rice talk to my colleague ben earlier. it has been a turbulent few months now for the royal family. and the vacuum of information has led to frenzied speculation about what has been happening to the prince and princess of wales. 0ur media correspondent david sillito reports. when, injanuary, a brief statement was made that the princess of wales

would be having surgery and a period of recuperation, the lack of news ended up triggering a deluge of speculation and conspiracy and debate. kensington palace release this photo... it has been crazy how much speculation about kate has taken over the internet. you are seeing it all across the world. you even seen people who don't normally pay attention to the royal family getting involved and speculating and throwing theories around. you're also seeing a lot ofjokes and a lot of memes. but within that there is a growing core group of people who are genuinely concerned about kate and her health. 0n tiktok, the views of videos about this have topped 1a billion. it is a beautiful shot of a mum and three happy kids.

this photo was revealed to have been digitally altered. there was a personal apology, but it triggered another storm of media interest from around the world. and even when footage emerged of the royal couple at a farm shop in windsor, there were still many wondering if this was digital trickery or a body double. rumours also circulated that the bbc was about to make an announcement. bbc news knew nothing, but bbc studios, the corporation's separate production arm, did. they were filming today's royal statement. the bbc today said that bbc studios filmed a message from the princess of wales at windsor this week. we would like to wish her royal highness a speedy recovery. there also assured that then were no edits in the video. relentless interest from the press and the public will always be part of royal life but the last few weeks have been a different level. a reminder that in an age of social

media, the less that is said publicly may only increase the level of conversation online. david sillito, bbc news. this return to moscow, we've heard on the reuters news agency that the russian national guard has left the area where the shooting took place haven't searched the underground parking and surrounding areas, and we are seeing pictures of the moment of the outside of the hall where we understand that children were among those killed in the shooting and distended —— incident, this is crocus city hall near moscow, and we understand children were among those, the figure at the moment is at least a0 dead and 100 wooded, but that seems to be going up through the evening. while this sort of incident is rare in russia — similar attacks have happened before. earlier — we heard from jonathan marcus the former bbc defence and diplomatic correspondent — who explained the recent history of militant

attacks in russia. russia and moscow in particular has not been immune to major terrorist incidents in the past. clearly there is absolutely no indication yet as to who might have been responsible. previous major terrorist incidents have generally been associated with the chechen or islamist groups. what is intriguing this time is that a number of western embassies, particularly the united states earlier in the month gave warnings to their nationals to be very cautious if they are in russia. i think they were probably advised not to be in russia at all. i think it is clear that some kind of warnings were probably passed to the russian authorities. there is suggestion, for example, that the russian authorities thwarted an islamist attack on a jewish target, possibly a synagogue or something like that in recent times. obviously there will be questions about any possible linkage with ukraine.

there is absolutely no indication of that at present. 0ne can't see how such an attack would benefit ukraine in any way. we know ukraine is attacking what they would see as strategic targets, energy infrastructure in russia, things like that, but there really haven't been any attacks by the ukrainians that sought just to cause mass casualties. and i think it's certainly come on initial evidence, very unlikely that there is a ukrainian element. but it's all up in the air at the moment. in a sense, the incident is still ongoing because the individuals who perpetrated this appalling attack have not yet been caught. so, very tentative, very hard at the moment to ascribe blame in any particular direction.

indeed. one of our previous guests similar to you said it was obviously far too early to draw any conclusions about who is behind it and motives. but worth stressing the level of organisation they felt this needed. effectively, the amount of planning that would have gone in to something like this. does that chime with you? well, i'm not sure. i don't know how much security there was around this particular venue. i mean, clearly, it is not a major problem to infiltrate and cause this sort of event. i mean, sadly, we have had this kind of attack, certainly not a gun attack but a bomb attack at a concert venue in britain ourselves. so, you know, we don't know what security there was on the ground. walking into a venue armed with obviously firearms and potentially we hear also some kind of explosive devices,

it requires some organisation but doesn't necessarily require extraordinary sophistication. i mean, this isjust slaughter of innocent people who are essentially defenceless. so i don't think one should sort of follow a path which leads one to suggest huge degrees of sophistication were required and that would necessarily limit the groups that might have been responsible. but as i say, it is intriguing that western intelligence sources did seem to have some forewarning or foreknowledge of an increased risk of a terrorist attack in moscow and it looks as though that was indeed indicated to the russian authorities. and we will continue with the last pictures of the scene of that attack in moscow, let's look at them no.

the latest is that we understand the russian national guard have left the concert hall but we understand the government left in the attack might still be a large, so i moment the death toll is a0 people, 100 injured, we understand children were amongst those killed in that shooting incident. at home and abroad. first, a very personal message from catherine, princess of wales, who's revealed she's receiving chemotherapy for cancer. this, of course, came as a huge shock, and william and i have been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family. iam i am alive at buckingham palace after the king said tonight he was so proud of his beloveds daughter—in—law�*s courage. also tonight, in russia, at least a0 people are dead after what's being described

as the worst terrorist attack in years. gunfire. panic as gunmen open fire and trigger explosives inside a concert hall near moscow. the venue was hosting a rock concert, and was packed with people. the search is on for the attackers, who are believed to have escaped, having left a trail of death and destruction of the concert hall. and this is the scene live tonight, with the emegency and security services out in force. 0n bbc london, money donated after the murder of sarah everard princess of wealth to the world she's been treated for cancer and why she speaking now and did the intense public interest in the condition play a part.

good evening.