A tantrum by a frightened boy prompted Chechen guerrillas to open fire in the Moscow theatre where they held hundreds of hostages, sparking a raid by Russian special forces. Olga Chernyak, a reporter with the news agency Interfax, had gone to the Melnikova Street theatre on Wednesday to see a popular Russian musical. During the second act a ‘‘suicide squad’’ of some 50 Chechen guerrillas stormed the building and started the most dramatic hostage crisis in Russian history. On the third night, with tensions inside the theatre rising, a young boy in a rear seat snapped, said Chernyak. He threw a bottle at the guerrillas and ‘‘dashed towards the exit, shouting: ‘Mummy, I don’t know what to do.’ They opened fire on him, but missed and hit seated people instead,’’ she said. Hearing the gunfire, commanders of elite storm troopers who had surrounded the theatre believed the rebels had acted on a threat to start shooting hostages if demands for a Russian troop withdrawal from Chechnya were ignored. Fearing the guerrillas would detonate large quantities of explosives inside the building, security forces pumped large quantities of gas into the theatre, knocking out the guerrillas before sending in special forces. In the ensuing mayhem most guerrillas, including their commander Movsar Barayev, were killed. A handful were taken into custody for interrogation.
