Iraqi Teen, 18, Associated with Main 19-Year-Old Suspect in Thwarted Terror Scheme That Led to Show Cancellations
A third suspect has been arrested in connection with a foiled terror attack targeting Taylor Swift’s now-cancelled concerts in Vienna, the Austrian interior minister has announced.
The 18-year-old Iraqi man is believed to have been an associate of the main 19-year-old suspect, identified as Beran A., an Austrian with North Macedonian roots.
Interior Minister Gerhard Karner revealed the latest arrest at a press conference in the Austrian capital on Friday.
Authorities say the plot was inspired by the Islamic State group and al-Qaida. Bomb-making materials, including chemical substances and technical devices, indicating “concrete preparatory acts” in the “advanced stages” were found during a raid of the main suspect’s home in Ternitz, south of Vienna, investigators said.
According to police, one of the suspects confessed to planning to “kill as many people as possible outside the concert venue.”
About 20,000 to 35,000 non-ticket holders were expected to gather outside the Ernst Happel stadium for each of the three concerts, authorities said. Up to 65,000 were due to attend inside.
The three sold-out concerts, part of Swift’s blockbuster Eras tour, were cancelled on Wednesday after details of the plot emerged. The attack was to be carried out on Thursday or Friday, officials said.
The cancellation left tens of thousands of fans, many of whom had traveled to Austria from around the world, devastated. Consolation has come from impromptu gatherings of Swifties across the city, singing the singer’s songs and swapping homemade bracelets.
Fans have been promised a refund of the ticket price but not the hotel or travel costs connected to their trips, which in many cases have run into thousands of euros.
Authorities defended the decision to cancel the concerts, despite the arrests of the terror suspects. Chancellor Karl Nehammer said the arrests had taken place too close to the scheduled concerts to allow them to go ahead.
Swift is due to perform at Wembley in London over five consecutive nights next week, with the last on August 20, bringing the European leg of her tour to a close. Many fans who were to attend the Vienna shows are now scrambling to get tickets for the London concerts, where prices have reportedly soared by almost 2,000% on the resale market.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has said the concerts will go ahead despite safety concerns, stating that authorities have adapted their surveillance based on lessons learned from the 2017 attack at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester.
The main suspect told authorities he had begun planning the attack last month and had uploaded an oath of allegiance to the current head of IS two days before the planned assault. Authorities say he had “clearly been radicalised in the direction of the Islamic State and considers it right to kill infidels.