The arrest of terror suspects less than 48 hours before the Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna made headlines. Now it turns out that the men had been in the police’s sights for some time.
The 19-year-old, who was arrested for planning an attack on a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna, and a 17-year-old friend had been under police surveillance for days before their arrests on August 7. This is according to a report by the Directorate of State Security and Intelligence (DSN), as reported by the Austrian agency APA.
On August 2, a foreign intelligence service gave information about possible attack plans in the vicinity of the US superstar’s concerts in Vienna, the APA quoted. The concerts from August 8 to 10 were canceled due to the threat of terrorism.
The foreign intelligence service spoke of a lone perpetrator who had one of the concerts in his sights. He had provided the 19-year-old’s phone number and his Telegram profile and also forwarded pictures. According to the police, the Austrian had declared his allegiance to the Islamist terrorist organization Islamic State.
Cell phone located
The man’s cell phone was then located on the same day and the man was put under surveillance. The 17-year-old alleged accomplice, who worked for a construction company in the stadium where the concerts were to take place, was also put under surveillance a short time later.
The two are said to have tested a mobile blue light and a siren together during a car ride. According to the police, the 19-year-old wanted to pose as a plainclothes police officer so that he could drive as close to the stadium as possible, as the documents further show. The 19-year-old wanted to kill Taylor Swift fans outside the stadium. According to the authorities, he initially confessed. His lawyer later retracted this.
The man was arrested on the morning of August 7 in Ternitz. Material for making explosives was found in the living quarters. The 17-year-old was arrested a few hours later in the Ernst Happel Stadium.
Source: Stern
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