At around 15:30 , two grenades were detonated approximately ten minutes apart by the militants at security forces outside the school , setting a police car on fire and injuring one officer , but Russian forces did not return fire . As the day and night wore on , the combination of stress and sleep deprivation — and possibly drug withdrawal — made the hostage-takers increasingly hysterical and unpredictable . The crying of the children irritated them , and on several occasions crying children and their mothers were threatened with being shot if they would not stop crying . Russian authorities claimed that the hostage-takers had " listened to German heavy metal group Rammstein on personal stereos during the siege to keep themselves edgy and fired up " ( Rammstein had previously come under fire following the Columbine High School massacre , and again in 2007 after the Jokela High School shooting )
Columbine High School massacre
Columbine High School massacre
Beslan school siege