A 15-year-old boy has been credited with saving over 100 people he led away from the terrorist massacre at a Moscow concert hall last week.
Islam Khalilov works as a cloakroom attendant at the Crocus City Hall and familiarity with the building allowed him to act quickly to guide concertgoers to safety.
“At first we heard some strange sounds on the first floor. We thought maybe some noisy group had come,” he explained.
“I understood that if I didn’t react, I would lose my life and the lives of many people,” he added. “Honestly, it was very scary.”
Footage from different angles show Khalilov shouting at concertgoers and guiding them toward an emergency exit.
“That way, that way, that way,” Khalilov can be seen saying in footage. “Everybody go that way. Everybody over there. To the Expo, to the Expo….”
“When I was in the crowd of people, walking to the door to open it, I thought [the gunmen] might come out of the stairs or from the escalator, and throw a grenade or open lethal fire,” he said.
“We were shown and told where to send people if something happened. I knew where to take people to keep them safe,” Khalilov said.
“That all this happened before my eyes. To be honest, I’m still in a state of shock. A man was shot right in front of me, I can’t stop thinking about it,” he finished.
