VIENNA (Reuters) – A 19-year-old Austrian terrorism suspect had taken concrete steps in planning an attack on a Taylor Swift concert, with chemical substances found during a search of his residence, Austria’s general director for public security said.
The teenager, with North Macedonian roots, is considered the main suspect, working closely with a 17-year-old Austrian, general director for public security Frankz Ruf told ORF radio.
The two males are part of a small group police are looking into, said Ruf, adding that the 19-year-old had pledged allegiance to the radical Islamic State group.
“We are of course investigating their wider surroundings,” said Ruf, adding that the threat was minimized with the arrests.
Swift’s three concerts in Vienna, expected to draw 195,000 people, were cancelled late on Wednesday after the government flagged a planned attack. Police had detained three people suspected of plotting attacks on concerts.
Searches of the main suspect’s house in the town of Ternitz near the Hungarian border showed “concrete preparatory actions,” said Ruf, with chemical substances and technical devices seized.
The Kurier newspaper, citing sources familiar with the situation, reported that the suspect had stolen the chemicals from his workplace and had built a bomb.
The newspaper reported that the 19-year-old had planned to drive a car into the crowd expected to gather outside the stadium, and had also considered using machetes and knives.
Austria’s interior ministry and intelligence service were not immediately available for comment on the report’s details.
The shows were to be part of the record-breaking Eras Tour by the American singer-songwriter which started on March 17, 2023, in Glendale, Arizona, U.S., and is set to conclude on Dec. 8, 2024, in Vancouver, Canada.
Swift, 34, has not yet commented on the cancellations on her official Instagram account which has 283 million followers.
(Reporting by Alexandra Schwarz-Goerlich, Writing by Miranda Murray, Editing by Rachel More and Andrew Cawthorne)
