More details have appeared about the thwarted terror plot that led to the detention of two Austrian teenagers and the revocation of Taylor Swift’s three sold-out shows in Vienna. Speaking to the media following the detention of the 19-year-old and 17-year-old male suspects, Austrian officials declared the terror plot was prepared for either Thursday or Friday’s show and that the suspects sought to “kill as many people as possible outside the concert venue.”
Bomb-making materials were discovered at the home of the 19-year-old suspect, who officials say was motivated by Al Qaeda and ISIS. He was “clearly radicalized in the direction of the Islamic State and believes it is right to kill infidels,” stated Omar Haijawi-Pirchner, Austria’s head of the Directorate of State Security and Intelligence. “His goal was to destroy himself and a large crowd of people.”
The 19-year-old suspect allegedly started planning the attack in July and had recently marked an online oath to ISIS. A charge of his home south of Vienna found chemical substances and technical devices that indicated “concrete preparatory acts,” the Ministry of the Interior stated.
According to officials, the suspect robbed chemicals from his workplace to produce a bomb. The suspect also designed to drive his vehicle into the crowd gathered outside the stadium while armed with knives and machetes.
The 17-year-old suspect was stopped by police near the Vienna stadium where Swift was assigned to perform; authorities stated that the suspect who also included ISIS and Al Qaeda material at his home was operated by a company that provided unspecified assistance to concerts at the Ernst Happel Stadium.
“The situation was grave, the situation is serious. But we can also state: A tragedy was prevented,” Austria’s interior minister Gerhard Karner declared. Although researchers do not believe anyone else was implicated in the terror plot, the decision was still produced by Barracuda Music, the organizer of the Eras Tour Vienna shows, to compensate for the concerts, which were calculated to draw 65,000 people inside the stadium and an extra 10,000 people outside the venue for each show.
“With assurance from government officials of a planned terrorist attack at Ernst Happel Stadium, we have no option but to cancel the three scheduled performances for everyone’s safety,” Barracuda Music conveyed in a statement.
“The revocation of the Taylor Swift concerts by the organizers is a painful disappointment for all fans in Austria,” Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer stated in a statement. “The situation surrounding the apparently intended terrorist attack in Vienna was very heavy. Thanks to the intensive collaboration of our police and the newly launched DSN with foreign services, the threat was recognized early, fought and a tragedy prevented. Many thanks to the emergency assistance who are currently investigating at full speed.”
He persisted, “We live in a time in which violent means are being used to attack our Western way of life. Islamist terrorism threatens security and freedom in many Western countries. This is precisely why we will not give up our values such as freedom and democracy, but will defend them even more vehemently.”
