A 19-year-old man has been arrested by Austrian intelligence services for plotting a suicide attack during a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna.
An attack to “Kill a large number of people”
Austrian authorities state that the 19-year-old Islamist intended to “kill a large number of people.” Consequently, the three concerts scheduled for this week in the Austrian capital have been canceled, causing distress among fans.
The main suspect “has made a full confession and stated that he intended to carry out an attack using explosives and bladed weapons,” said Omar Haijawi-Pirchner, director of the intelligence services, during a press conference. “His goal was to kill himself and a large number of people, either today or tomorrow, during the concert.”
A second suspect, aged 17, was “employed for a few days by a subcontracting company that was supposed to provide services at the stadium during the concert.” He was an accomplice of the 19-year-old in carrying out this horrific act.
Fan Disappointment
The conservative Interior Minister addressed the incident, noting that a “tragedy has been avoided” as “the situation was very serious,” especially considering the “attack” at a recent Taylor Swift event in Britain where three young girls were killed.
Police discovered explosives and detonators, which were immediately seized.
The main suspect, originally from North Macedonia, is similar to the perpetrator of the only Islamist attack in Vienna in 2020, which killed four people. The second suspect is an Austrian Islamist of Turkish or Croatian origin and had “broken up with his girlfriend recently,” revealed Franz Ruf, director of public security.
Without confirmation from the authorities, they were reportedly alerted to the main suspect by foreign partners, likely from the United States, according to American press. The authorities had promised to strengthen security measures, but this was not enough to reassure organizers. The Austrian government decided to suspend the three concerts. “We did everything humanly possible to ensure the event could take place,” Mr. Ruf emphasized, as the cancellation caused immense frustration among the tens of thousands of expected fans.
The 34-year-old singer, Taylor Swift, was scheduled to perform starting Thursday as part of her “Eras” tour, which began in Paris in May. After France, she traveled to Sweden, Portugal, Spain, the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, and Poland.
Over 170,000 spectators were expected in Austria, with an estimated economic impact of over 100 million euros, according to figures provided by the APA news agency.