A third teenager has been arrested in connection with a plot to attack one of Taylor Swift’s concerts in Vienna, Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said.
Karner announced the arrest of the 18-year-old Iraqi national during an unrelated news conference Friday.
“He had been in contact with the main perpetrator, but is not directly connected to the attack plans. But, as was found out a few days ago, he took an oath of allegiance specifically to the IS [Islamic State, or ISIS] on August 6,” he said.
Karner said investigators were scrutinizing the three suspects’ “networks” and were evaluating physical and electronic evidence which had been recovered.
A 19-year-old man was arrested, and chemical substances found, at a house in Ternitz, 20 miles south of the Austrian capital on Tuesday.
Austrian police say he had uploaded to the internet an oath of allegiance to the current leader of the ISIS terrorist group.
Officials have said the 19-year-old—who has not been identified, as is normal under Austrian law—had confessed to planning to “kill as many people as possible outside the concert venue” using knives or explosives.
A second suspect, aged 17, was also arrested in Vienna on Tuesday.
A fourth person—a boy aged 15—was also questioned but was not arrested.
On Wednesday all three of the U.S. pop star’s concerts in Vienna were canceled, after it emerged the Austrian police were investigating a terrorist plot against them.
Attack Planned for Thursday or Friday Night
Karner said the attack had been planned for Thursday or Friday night.An estimated 170,000 fans were expected to have attended the concerts, but Barracuda Music said, “All tickets will be automatically refunded within the next 10 business days.”
In 2017, an Islamic extremist suicide bomber, Salman Abedi, detonated a device in the foyer of a concert venue in Manchester as an Ariana Grande concert was coming to an end, killing 22 people.
Concert organizer Barracuda Music said in an Instagram post late Wednesday it had “no choice but to cancel the three scheduled shows for everyone’s safety.”
Austria’s Chancellor Karl Nehammer defended the decision to cancel the concerts.
He told a press conference on Thursday: “I understand very well that those who wanted to experience the concert live are very sad.”
“Moms and dads are looking after their daughters and sons, who were full of enthusiasm and anticipation for this concert. But it’s also important that in such serious moments as now, it’s inevitable that safety comes first,” he said.
Swift’s Eras tour began in Arizona in March 2023 and is due to conclude in Vancouver in December this year.
She embarked on the European leg of the tour in May 2024, starting in France.
London ‘Looking Forward to Welcoming Taylor Swift Back’
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, told Sky News on Thursday London was “looking forward to welcoming Taylor Swift back” and said there were no plans to cancel her concerts next week.Khan said: “We have a huge amount of experience in policing these events, we’re never complacent, many lessons were learned after the awful Manchester Arena attack.”
“I’m sure Vienna has got its own reasons to cancel the Taylor Swift concerts, we’re going to carry on, working closely with police, ensuring that the Taylor Swift concerts can take place in London safely,” he said.
Swift is due to take a break after the London gigs before a final series of concerts in Miami, New Orleans, Indianapolis, Toronto, and Vancouver.
Last month three girls were stabbed to death during a Taylor Swift-themed dance and yoga class near Liverpool, England.
Swift at the time said she was, “completely in shock” about the violence.
An 18-year-old man has been charged with murdering the girls and is due to go on trial next year.
Police have said the incident was not terrorist-related.
