He swore allegiance to the terrorist organization Islamic State: An Austrian planned attacks and had his eye on Taylor Swift companies in Vienna. The organizers are taking drastic action.
For fear of terrorist attacks, organizers have canceled three upcoming concerts by US pop star Taylor Swift in Vienna.
“Due to confirmation by government officials of a planned terrorist attack at the Ernst Happel Stadium, we have no choice but to cancel the three planned shows for everyone’s safety,” the organizer, Barracuda Music, said on Instagram. The concerts were scheduled to take place in Vienna on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
This was preceded by the arrest of two terror suspects in Austria on Wednesday, including a 19-year-old. According to police findings, the teenager was planning attacks in the greater Vienna area.
Focus on Taylor Swift concerts
“We have also determined that the 19-year-old perpetrator is focused on the Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna,” said Franz Ruf, Director General for Public Security in the Austrian Interior Ministry. The young man became radicalized on the Internet and recently pledged allegiance to the terrorist organization Islamic State (IS).
The 19-year-old was tracked down in Ternitz, around 75 kilometers southwest of Vienna. Another person was arrested in Vienna. The police did not say what the relationship between the two arrested men was or whether the police are looking for accomplices.
Chemical substances
The police did not say what exactly the 19-year-old had planned. However, chemical substances were found on him. The police searched a house in Ternitz. Investigators in protective suits were seen there. Out of concern about possible explosive traps, the police had cordoned off a large area of the building. Many people had to leave their homes. Part of a retirement home was also evacuated.
At each of the three concerts, 65,000 people were expected in the sold-out stadium, as well as around 20,000 fans who would have come to the arena without tickets to hear their idol’s music from afar, said Vienna’s state police chief Gerhard Pürstl.
“The findings of the investigation give reason for increased police surveillance,” he said a few hours before the concerts were canceled. The concrete danger has been minimized, but an abstract danger still exists. The police cannot cancel such events, said the state police chief in response to a question from a journalist.
The police had already mobilized special anti-terror forces, including plainclothes officers and those with special training and police dogs, to secure the concerts. They wanted to monitor the airspace both mobile and stationary.
Government: let us not destroy our way of life
Austrian Vice Chancellor Werner Kogler (Greens) thanked the investigators. “Terrorists want to scare us and drive us apart,” he wrote on the short message service X. “We will not allow our way of life to be destroyed.”
Source: Stern
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