VIA (CNN) Austrian authorities have detained an 18-year-old Iraqi national as part of an investigation into an alleged ISIS-inspired plot to target a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna, according to the country’s interior minister.
On Thursday, organizers made the unprecedented decision to cancel three Swift concerts in Austria after authorities announced they had thwarted a terrorist attack planned for the Vienna stop of her Eras tour. The Iraqi teenager is the third individual to be arrested and is suspected of having connections to the primary suspect, a 19-year-old Austrian of North Macedonian descent. Both teenagers had recently pledged allegiance to ISIS, the ministry stated.
“A planned attack on a concert was successfully prevented thanks to the timely actions of the authorities. This achievement was the result of comprehensive investigations that targeted not only the main suspects but also their broader network,” the ministry said on Friday.
Authorities are “taking firm action against anyone involved in terrorist activities or displaying radical tendencies,” the ministry added.
While the Iraqi teenager is “not currently directly linked to the planned attack,” he was arrested under the “broad scope” of the ongoing investigation.
The two main suspects, the 19-year-old and a 17-year-old, are in pre-trial detention and had shown significant behavioral changes before their arrests.
The 19-year-old suspect quit his job on July 25, stating he had “something big planned” and intended to detonate a device within the concert venue, said Franz Ruf, Austria’s director general for public security.
Authorities discovered explosive devices, detonators, extensive ISIS propaganda material, €21,000 in counterfeit money, machetes, knives, and anabolic steroids at the 19-year-old’s residence. Meanwhile, the 17-year-old had recently ended a relationship with his girlfriend.
Vienna was set to be the penultimate stop on the European leg of Swift’s Eras tour. The US pop star was scheduled to perform in Austria on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, before heading to London’s Wembley Stadium for five shows next week, followed by performances in Canada in November and December.
Austrian authorities expected around 65,000 attendees at each of Swift’s Vienna concerts, with up to 20,000 fans outside the stadium.
The cancellation devastated fans, including many who had traveled from across Europe and around the world for the shows.
Tiffany Kidd, a 41-year-old nurse from Arizona, had never left the United States before. She had obtained her first passport, created several Swift-inspired outfits, and spent $5,000 to travel to Vienna to see the pop star live. The cancellations are “heartbreaking, for sure,” Kidd told CNN on Wednesday.
Vanessa Szombathelyi, 24, flew from Ireland to Hungary, where she and her best friend had planned to drive across the border to Vienna for the show. It would have been her first Swift concert since becoming a fan in 2018, and she had been eagerly awaiting it since purchasing the ticket last summer.
“(I’m) feeling mixed emotions, everything from tears to anger,” she told CNN on Wednesday, but added that she was relieved the suspects had been apprehended.
The cancellations are also expected to impact the Austrian economy. Swift’s tour has been making headlines for boosting local economies in the cities she visits, including generating an estimated $380 million in London, according to the city’s mayor in June.
