The suspect was planning a deadly attack on some 20,000 fans (file).
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An Austrian teenager accused of breaking into a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna, planning to carry out a suicide attack that would lead to a “bloodbath” and pledging allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) has been arrested, authorities said Thursday.
The 19-year-old, with roots in North Macedonia, made a full confession in custody, Austria’s director general of public security, Franz Ruf, told a news conference.
He had pledged allegiance to the IS leader online and had chemicals, machetes and technological devices at his home in the town of Ternitz in preparation for the attack, Roof added.
The suspect was planning a deadly attack on some 20,000 “Swifty” fans gathered outside Vienna’s Ernst Happel stadium, domestic intelligence chief Omar Hayzawi-Pirchner said. Two other Austrian youths, aged 17 and 15, were arrested on Wednesday in connection with the alleged plot.
“The main perpetrator admitted that he and two accomplices were going to carry out the suicide attack,” said Austrian Chancellor Karl Neuhammer.
“The suspects actually had a very specific and detailed plan … to leave a bloodbath in their wake.” Authorities painted a picture of the prime suspect as self-radicalized, changing his appearance and sharing Islamist propaganda online. He left his job on July 25 and told people he had “big plans,” Roof said.
A neighbour told Austrian broadcaster Puls24 that the suspect was secretive and grew a “Taliban beard”.
According to security officials, a few days ago a company that provided services at the stadium offered the 17-year-old suspect a job.
Event organizer Barracuda Music said it had, in coordination with the singer’s management team, canceled three of Swift’s Vienna concerts, which were scheduled to begin Thursday with sellout crowds of 65,000 each.
Fans, many of whom had made the long journey to Vienna, expressed both disappointment and understanding.
“It’s just heartbreaking, just disappointing. But at the end of the day I guess it’s for everyone’s safety,” said Mark Del Rosario, who came from the Philippines to see the popular American singer.
Rockade of the music world
US broadcaster ABC cited law enforcement and intelligence sources as saying that Austrian authorities had received information from US intelligence about the threat to Swift’s concert.
It cited sources as saying that at least one of the suspects pledged allegiance to IS, a resurgent wing of IS, in a telegram in June, although the plot was inspired by IS and not carried out by the group’s operatives.
Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Kerner said foreign intelligence agencies had helped with the investigation as Austrian law does not allow monitoring of messaging apps.
Event organiser Live Nation urged fans of Coldplay, who will play at the same stadium on 21 August, to remain calm and said it was contacting authorities.
There was no comment on whether the event would go ahead.
British police said Thursday there was no indication the planned attack in Vienna would affect Swift’s show at Wembley Stadium in London next week.
“Concerts are often the preferred target of Islamist attackers, big concerts,” Kerner said, citing the 2015 attack at the Bataclan concert hall in Paris and the 2017 attack at Manchester Arena in England, where American pop star Ariana Grande performed.
The plot in Austria also brought to mind a failed plot by three men suspected of links to IS to attack Vienna’s gay pride parade last year.
Islamic State was largely crushed by the U.S.-led coalition several years ago after establishing a “caliphate” across large swathes of Iraq and Syria, but it has still carried out some major attacks as it tries to rebuild and rebuild.
This week’s shows will be part of American singer-songwriter Swift’s record-breaking Eras Tour, which kicks off March 17, 2023, in Glendale, Arizona, and ends December 8, 2024, in Vancouver, Canada.
Swift, 34, has yet to comment on the cancellation on her official Instagram account, which has 283 million followers.
Fans were horrified by the threat, with some begging organisers to postpone the concert rather than cancel it outright. Promoters said they would refund tickets.
(Except for the headline, this story was not edited by NDTV staff and appeared on a syndicated channel.)
