An ISIS sympathizer tried to kill a lot of people at Taylor Swift's concert in Vienna.
His plan was to kill people outside the stadium, said intelligence chief Omar Haijawi-Pirchner. Neither he nor a second arrested 17-year-old had tickets. The act was planned for Thursday or Friday evening but they were arrested on Wednesday. Additionally, a 15-year-old is being questioned who is suspected of knowing about the attack plans.
The second arrested person had worked for a company that was supposed to provide drinks and food at the stadium on Thursday evening, said Haijawi-Pirchner. The 17-year-old is not cooperating, but material from the IS militia and the Al-Qaeda terrorist network was found in his possession.
On Wednesday evening, investigators had reported that the main suspect had taken an IS "oath of allegiance". In the apartment of the suspect arrested in Lower Austria, police secured chemical substances.
The 19-year-old had allegedly started planning his attack in July. The Austrian citizen of North Macedonian descent had a functional explosive device that he had made himself at the time of his arrest. Also secured were ignition devices, ignition cables and ignition devices, knives, machetes, and 21,000 euros in counterfeit money. Additionally, the 19-year-old had a blue light and a siren: "Either he wanted to use it to get to the scene or to leave," said Haijawi-Pirchner.
In preparation for his planned act, the suspected main perpetrator had quit his job and changed his appearance to adapt to IS fighters. The man was "clearly radicalized," said the intelligence chief. His agency had initially assumed a lone attacker. "But through existing knowledge, we were then able to determine that he was part of an Islamic network."
The second arrested person came "from the environment" of the main perpetrator. The arrest of the 17-year-old Austrian with Turkish-Croatian roots took place on Wednesday afternoon by special forces of the police on his way to work at the stadium.
In police custody on Thursday was also a 15-year-old with a Turkish migration background, who was initially not arrested but only questioned. He could have known about the attack plans. Whether he was involved still needs to be clarified.
Apart from these three men, "we are currently not looking for any further persons," said Haijawi-Pirchner. Regarding the security of upcoming major events such as a Coldplay concert, he said: "There are no indications that further concerts are explicitly at risk."
After the arrests became known on Wednesday, the organizer of the planned Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna from Thursday to Saturday canceled all three performances in the Austrian capital. Interior Minister Gerhard Karner expressed understanding for this decision and said: "A tragedy could be prevented." The "terrorist threat to the whole of Europe" has been confirmed. Also, Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) spoke of a still high terrorist threat in Europe and thus also in Germany.
Fans of Taylor Swift reacted online in shock. "My mom and I are sitting in the room crying," a "Swiftie" wrote online. "Our hearts are broken," added another fan who had traveled from California. Other fans, meanwhile, expressed fear of moving around Vienna at all, according to comments.
Taylor Swift is currently one of the most famous artists in the world. Just a week and a half ago, a man in the UK attacked a children's dance class to the music of the American singer, killing three girls aged six to nine. The incident sparked days of far-right group riots in the UK.
The stadium where the planned attack was to take place is famously known as Ernst-Happel. The material found in the possession of the second arrested individual included references to the IS militia and Al-Qaeda terrorist network.
