A tragedy was averted, but the situation remains serious, Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said at a press conference on Thursday after a threat to attack American pop star Taylor Swift’s concerts in Vienna was averted. In Austria, the second highest level of terrorism warning has been in effect for a long time.
Vienna
13:28 August 8, 2024 Share on Facebook
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Singer Taylor Swift (archive photo) | Photo: Mario Anzuoni | Source: Reuters
Karner’s office confirmed on Thursday that the 19-year-old Austrian suspect wanted to attack with an explosive and kill as many people as possible, either on Thursday or Friday. According to the investigators, he confessed to the preparations for the crime, during which he considered using stabbing weapons.
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Listen to an interview with Jiří Hlinka, executive director of the Czech Association of Festivals
The young man, who was arrested on Wednesday, has been radicalized on the Internet and recently pledged allegiance to the Islamic State terrorist organization.
According to authorities, he quit his job on July 25 and said he was up to something big. From then on, he fully concentrated on preparing the attack.
In addition to explosive materials, machetes, knives, as well as over 20,000 fake euros and propaganda Islamist materials were found in his apartment in Ternitz, East Austria.
Another 17-year-old suspect, who was also detained by the police on Wednesday, according to the authorities, has recently significantly changed his social contacts, including breaking up with his girlfriend. Austrian police are not looking for anyone else at the moment, although they have also been investigating a 15-year-old boy.
According to the APA agency, both young men were born in Austria. The older one’s parents have roots in North Macedonia, the younger one’s mother is Austrian.
Organizers canceled three Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna. The police arrested two people suspected of terrorism
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The Austrian server Krone, citing its source, claims that the target of the 19-year-old arrested man’s plans was not Swift herself, but her fans.
Each of the three sold-out concerts was supposed to be attended by 65,000 people. In addition, the police expected that there would be another 15 to 20 thousand fans of the pop singer in the vicinity.
It is said that the young man stole the chemicals needed for the production of explosives from his former employer. Whether he could have actually assembled a bomb with the help of these substances is the subject of investigation, but according to the server it seems possible.
Interior Minister Karner also warned on Thursday that the danger of Islamist acts has increased significantly across Europe following last year’s attack on Israel by the Palestinian terrorist movement Hamas. He called for increased powers for the Alpine country’s secret services and police, who are now unable to monitor communications on intranet platforms such as Telegram.
Refund of entrance fee
Swift was scheduled to perform at Vienna’s Ernst Happel Stadium. The organizers of the concerts do not expect to look for an alternative date. All fans have ten working days to get their ticket back.
“It is an extremely unpleasant, complex and demanding situation not only for the organizer, but I have no doubt for Talyor Swift herself and dozens of her associates. And undoubtedly also for the 220 or 240 thousand people who were supposed to attend the concert not only in the stadium, but also in its surroundings,” explains Jiří Hlinka, executive director of the Czech Festival Association, for Radiožurnál.
According to him, returning the money is easy. “Thanks to technology, I would compare the refund to two clicks on the operator’s side. Another part is that there is something to refund,” he adds.
He then divided security measures during similar large events into visible and invisible. “Drones are becoming the absolute standard, which monitor all places where similar events take place. Secret policemen then operate in the crowd,” he listed one of them.
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