A third person has been detained by Austrian authorities in connection with the foiled terror plot to attack fans at Taylor Swift‘s now-cancelled Eras Tour shows in Vienna this weekend. The Associated Press reported that an unnamed 18-year-old man was arrested Thursday evening (August 8) following the earlier arrests of the 19-year-old main suspect in the incident and a 17-year-old, both of whom were taken into custody on Tuesday.
At press time no additional information was available on the third suspect or on what charges the three men might be facing in connection with what officials describe as plans to unleash a potentially devastating mass casualty event by the trio. The main suspect has told police that he planned to attack Swifties gathered outside Ernst Happel Stadium for what were supposed to be three shows (August 8, 9, 10) at the 65,000-capacity venue.
Officials had expected up to 30,000 fans without tickets to post up outside the stadium each night, with the 19-year-old telling officials that he planned to drive a vehicle into the throng and attack those gathered for the concerts with knives or homemade explosives at Thursday or Friday night’s shows in order to “kill as many people as possible.”
The attack was reportedly inspired by the terror groups al-Qaida and the Islamic State, with the main suspect and the 18-year-old arrested on Friday allegedly pledging an “oath of allegiance” to ISIS; CNN described the 18-year-old as an Iraqi national who was detained as part of the “broad scope” of the ongoing investigation as the interior ministry is “taking decisive action against anyone who might be involved in terrorist activities or exhibits radical tendencies.”
CNN also reported that during their investigation at the main suspect’s home, police investigators said they found bomb-making materials, detonators, 21,000 euros in counterfeit money, machetes, knives and anabolic steroids. Authorities also said the main suspect quit his job on July 25, saying he had “something big planned.” Islamic State and al-Qaida-related materials were also found at the 17-year-old’s home. According to the AP, the latter has so far refused to talk to authorities, who also revealed that he’d been hired earlier this week by a company that was providing unspecified services at the venue for the anticipated shows.
The 18-year-old arrested on Friday also reportedly swore the oath to the terror groups and “comes from the social environment” of the main suspect, but is not believed to be directly linked to the foiled plot.
At press time Swift had not made any public statement about the cancellation of the shows or the reports about the thwarted attack and a spokesperson had not returned a request for additional comment.
While breathing a sigh of relief that Austrian authorities broke up the plot before it could be carried out, crestfallen Swifties who’d traveled from all over the world and Europe consoled each other in the Vienna streets on Thursday by gathering to sing Swift’s songs and trade friendship bracelets. The superfans flooded Corneliusgasse street — a boulevard in Vienna that shares a name with Swift’s song “Cornelia Street” — where they traded the tour’s signature bracelets, hung them from trees and sang “But Daddy I Love Him” from Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department album. In another silver lining scene, a pair of Swifties got engaged on the streets of Vienna in a “Love Story” brought to life.
The Vienna shows were supposed to be the penultimate run on the European leg of Swift’s Eras Tour. On Thursday, officials in the UK said that there is no indication that the Vienna cancellation will have any impact on next week’s kick-off of a five-night (August 15-20) night run at London’s Wembley Stadium.
