Taylor Swift Austria concert plot: Third person in custody

Days after Taylor Swift’s concerts in Vienna, Austria were canceled, more details were released about the planned terrorist attack on the venue.

Update 7 a.m. ET, Aug. 8: A third teen has been arrested in the planned attack, officials said.

Interior Minister Gerhard Karner announced an 18-year-old was arrested after being in contact with the main suspect, The Associated Press reported.

Officials said the latest teen arrested is Iraqi and has recently pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, CNN reported.

They said that he was “not currently linked directly to the planned attack” but was arrested under the “broad scope” of the investigation.

Investigators are now looking at how the three people connected with each other and are digging into physical and electronic evidence looking for information into the alleged ISIS-inspired terror plot.

In addition to the 18-year-old being arrested, a 19-year-old and a 17-year-old were also arrested. A 15-year-old was questioned but not arrested.

None of the suspects’ names have been released because of the country’s privacy laws.

“A planned attack on a concert event was successfully thwarted thanks to the timely intervention of the authorities. This success was made possible through extensive investigations that targeted not only the main suspects but also their surrounding network,” the interior ministry said, according to CNN.

Original report: Austrian officials said that bomb-making materials were found and one of the two people arrested confessed that they wanted to “kill as many people as possible outside the concert venue,” The Associated Press reported.

Swift had planned to perform in the Austrian capitol Thursday, Friday and Saturday as part of the Eras Tour. The concerts were sold out at Ernst Happel Stadium. The attack had been planned for either Thursday or Friday’s performance by two people who were inspired by the Islamic State group and al-Qaida.

The 19-year-old potential attacker started planning in July and recently uploaded an oath of allegiance to the current Islamic State militia leader. He was going to use knives or homemade explosives at the stadium.

He made a full confession, Reuters reported.

Officials said the suspects were radicalized online, The Washington Post reported. Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said they were aided in the investigation by foreign intelligence agencies since Austrian law does not permit monitoring of messenger apps, according to Reuters. ABC News said that U.S. intelligence agencies gave Austria and Europol the information about the planned attack.

Omar Haijawi-Pirchner, the head of the Austrian Directorate of State Security and Intelligence, said the man was “clearly radicalized in the direction of the Islamic State and thinks it is right to kill infidels,” the AP reported.

Officials found chemical substances and devices during their investigation.

They also found Islamic State group and al-Qaida material at the second suspect’s home, a 17-year-old Austrian. He had been employed by a company that provided services at the concert venue. He was arrested near the stadium.

ABC News reported that despite the planned attack being inspired by ISIS, it does not appear to have been directed by the terrorist group.

Neither of the suspects’ names was released due to Austrian privacy laws.

Barracuda Music, the concert promoters, announced the three-night cancellation on Wednesday on Instagram, citing “confirmation of planned terrorist attack” they had “no choice but to cancel the three scheduled shows for everyone’s safety.” The group said tickets will be automatically refunded within the next 10 business days.

Initially, before the announcement that the concerts were not going to happen, organizers had said security would be increased at the concert using police dog units and anti-terror teams, The Washington Post reported.

Austria’s Vice-Chancellor Werner Kogler wrote, “For many, a dream has been shattered today. On three evenings in Vienna, tens of thousands of #Swifties should have celebrated life together.”

Chancellor Karl Nehammer called it “a bitter disappointment for all fans in Austria” on X.

One fan flew from Arizona, spending $5,000 for the flight to see Swift in Vienna. Tiffany Kidd, 41, had never traveled outside of the U.S., CNN reported. She spent a year planning the trip. It was a 13-hour trip. She called the cancelation “heartbreaking for sure,” but also said she was “a little shook” when she heard about the attack.

Another fan, Kardelen Kocakcigil, 30, had a 24-hour trip from Toronto to Istanbul to Vienna. She paid $2,100 for her trip.

“My travel was planned around the concert, dressing up, meeting with my Swiftie friends around the world and going to Taylor Swift-themed attractions around the city,” Kocakcigil told CNN. “Now I don’t have any itinerary and my friends are not coming due to safety concerns. This trip turned from something I was looking forward to for over a year to aimless, expensive travel.”

The Washington Post said the plot was similar to threats against other events in Europe this summer. However, officials said, “There is currently no information that other concerts are subject to an explicit threat,” Reuters reported.

Coldplay is scheduled to play at the same stadium on Aug. 21. Live Nation, the promoter of the concert, said it is working with law enforcement. They have not said if the concert would still go on.

The next stop on the tour is London’s Wembley Stadium, a five-night event to end the European portion of the Eras Tour. It starts on Aug. 15. She takes a few-month break, resuming the tour in Toronto on Nov. 14.

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