Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) announced on Sunday that a Russian minor was detained for threatening a terrorist attack in Moscow. The arrest was made after a tip was passed along from the U.S. government.
“We are grateful to the American side for providing the information,” the FSB said in its announcement.
The suspect, who was not identified by the FSB, reportedly posted photos of himself clad in tactical gear and brandishing a weapon on TikTok. These photos were accompanied by a photo of the Tsaritsyno Museum-Reserve in Moscow under the caption: “I found a place.”
Tsaritsyno is an 18th-century palace and park located in southern Moscow. It was originally constructed as a country residence for Empress Catherine the Great. The site is popular for its picturesque architecture, fine arts displays, and elegant landscaping.
The FSB said it found some of the clothing and accessories from the photos when it searched the suspect’s house. His phone included a subscription to a “neo-Nazi channel” on Telegram, plus “a significant number of searches concerning terrorist attacks, mass killings and other acts of violence.”
The Tsaritsyno Museum-Reserve was closed to visitors on Saturday evening for “technical reasons,” but reopened normally on Sunday. According to a local paper, the venue was evacuated during an organ concert that had about ten minutes left to go, and a concert for later on Saturday evening was canceled.
The U.S. Embassy in Moscow published an alert on Saturday warning of “a credible threat of a mass casualty event” at Tsaritsyno. The embassy warned Americans in Moscow to “avoid the area, stay alert, and avoid crowds.”
“The U.S. government is coordinating with appropriate Russian authorities on a response,” the embassy said. The German embassy in Russia posted a similar warning.
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