Three teenagers suspected of planning a terror attack in Vienna at a Taylor Swift concert were arrested and interrogated by Austrian police, as per reports. Law enforcement officers have expressed concerns about the growing influence of terrorism on young minds in the country.
As per Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner, foreign intelligence agencies helped the European country avert the attack, which could have accounted for several casualties. Citing an unknown source, who is familiar with the development, CNN reported that it was the US who warned Vienna about the threat.
Show organizers cancelled three concerts, which would have taken place from Thursday to Saturday.
During the course of the investigation, officers seized explosive devices, detonators, chemicals, and 21,000 euros in fake notes at the home of the main suspect, who has been identified as a 19-year-old ISIS sympathiser. The teenager had been radicalized online, CNN reported citing authorities.
Omar Haijawi-Pirchner, head of the Directorate of State Security and Intelligence, said the 19-year-old planned a suicide attack. The teenager was arrested on Wednesday morning. “He said he intended to carry out an attack using explosives and knives,” Haijawi-Pirchner told reporters in Vienna on Thursday, as quoted by CNN. “His aim was to kill himself and a large number of people during the concert, either today or tomorrow.”
Swifties in Vienna after Taylor Swift’s concerts were canceled due to terrorist threats:
— Taylor Swift Charts (@chartstswift) August 8, 2024
“It’s been a long time but we’ll wait for evermore.” pic.twitter.com/Fb3qcmkil3
The other two suspects are aged 17 and 15 years. While not a lot has been revealed about the youngest suspect, the 17-year-old was an employee of a facilities company that would have provided services at the concert venue. He was arrested near the stadium, according to Haijwai-Pirchner. All three suspects are Austrian-born with either Turkish, North Macedonian or Croatian backgrounds.
Franz Ruf, Austria’s director general for public security, said the suspects were in contact with other people who knew about the plan. Ruf, however, said that authorities are not looking for anyone else in direct connection with the planned attack.
Meanwhile, the cancellations of the Swift concert left Swifties heartbroken, who were hoping to attend the record-breaking Eras Tour in the European city. An estimated 170,000 people would have attended the concerts, reports said.
thank you lovely church in #vienna that played Taylor swift songs the day of the first cancelled concert and gave lots of sad swifties a place to gather. Thanks to the police for keeping us all safe! #ViennaTStheErasTour pic.twitter.com/p9eZeIJaeT
— kristi hovington (@kristihov) August 8, 2024
Vienna was scheduled to be the penultimate venue in Europe for Swift’s tour, which began in Glendale, Arizona in March 2023.
The 34-year-old singer is set to play in five shows — August 15, 16, 17, 19 and 20 — at London’s Wembley Stadium.
