Austrian officials have provided further details regarding the alleged terror plot that led to the cancellation of all three Taylor Swift Eras Tour concerts in Vienna over the weekend.
Omar Haijawi-Pirchner, head of Austria’s Directorate of State Security and Intelligence, disclosed in a press conference on Thursday, Aug. 8, that the 19-year-old Austrian suspect they apprehended confessed to planning “an attack” at Swift’s concert using “explosives and knives,” as reported by NBC News, CNN, and Le Monde.
According to Le Monde, Haijawi-Pirchner stated, “His goal was to kill himself and a large number of people during the concert, either today or tomorrow.” The Grammy winner’s concerts were initially scheduled for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights.
Per NBC News, Haijawi-Pirchner also revealed that investigators discovered items in the suspect’s apartment, including hydrogen peroxide, detonators, detonator cables, and homemade explosives that had already been assembled.
Officials at the news conference stated that the 19-year-old suspect had been “clearly radicalized in the direction of the Islamic State (IS),” as reported by NBC News. They emphasized that “large concerts” are “frequent targets of Islamist attacks.”
According to CNN, authorities also detained two additional suspects who had connections with individuals aware of the plot.
One of the detained individuals is a 17-year-old employed by a facility management company that was set to provide services to the Ernst Happel Stadium, the venue for Swift’s concert.
The other is a 15-year-old who was in the vicinity of the stadium at the time of his arrest. Officials noted that the 15-year-old has so far refused to cooperate with authorities.
According to CNN, Interior Minister Gerhard Karner revealed that officials were alerted to the plot by a foreign intelligence agency. A source had earlier informed the outlet that it was U.S. agencies that warned the Vienna government.
“The situation was serious, and it remains serious. However, we can also say that a tragedy was averted,” Karner stated during the press conference.
Just hours after Swift canceled all three of her Vienna shows, a promoter’s post, later re-shared on the official Taylor Nation Instagram Stories, confirmed that the concerts were called off for “safety” reasons.
The message, initially posted by Barracuda Music, stated, “Following confirmation from government officials of a planned terrorist attack at Ernst Happel Stadium, we have no choice but to cancel the three scheduled shows for everyone’s safety.” The post also mentioned that all tickets purchased by fans “will be automatically refunded within the next 10 business days.”
Swift’s next set of Eras Tour concerts is still set to take place in London from Aug. 15-20.
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