Plot to Attack Taylor Swift Concert Uncovered

Berlin:

A 19-year-old has been apprehended in Austria for purportedly scheming to eliminate individuals outside a stadium at a Taylor Swift performance, resulting in the annulment of the pop superstar’s three shows in Vienna this week.

Two other adolescents have been recognized as suspects.

This is what safety officials have stated regarding the trio.

THE 19-YEAR-OLD

The Austrian citizen with North Macedonian origins was arrested in the early morning hours of Wednesday during a police operation at his residence in Ternitz, a town near the Hungarian border.

The teenager, who had uploaded a video online confessing to the scheme, resigned from his job on July 25, informing people that he “had significant intentions”, public safety chief Franz Ruf informed reporters on Thursday.

The suspect had recently altered his appearance and had been ingesting and distributing Islamist propaganda online, safety officials mentioned, adding that he had pledged allegiance to Islamic State but also harbored sympathies for Al Qaeda.

A neighbor informed Austrian broadcaster Puls24 that the young man kept to himself and that he had grown a “Taliban beard”.

During a search of his residence, law enforcement authorities secured various materials and tools utilized for constructing explosives, as well as Islamic State propaganda, 21,000 euros ($23,000) in counterfeit money, machetes, knives, and blank ammunition.

The Kurier newspaper, citing sources familiar with the situation, reported that the suspect had pilfered the chemicals from his former workplace, a metal processing company also in Ternitz. Officials did not comment on where he acquired the chemicals from, mentioning that this was a focus of their investigation.

THE 17-YEAR-OLD

After initially receiving information about a single suspect, Austrian investigators stumbled upon the other two, including a 17-year-old Austrian citizen with Turkish-Croatian origins who was detained in Vienna on Wednesday afternoon.

He had been behaving suspiciously in the vicinity of the Ernst Happel Stadium, where Swift’s stadium performances had been scheduled to occur on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

The 17-year-old had been employed by a company a few days ago that was offering services at the stadium.

The boy, who also seems to have been radicalized and was already known to authorities, had recently ended his relationship with his girlfriend, Ruf mentioned.

He has yet to provide a statement to police so his precise role in the scheme is uncertain, but he had extensive communication with the main suspect, officials stated.

THE 15-YEAR-OLD

The third and final suspect is an Austrian citizen with Turkish heritage.

During interrogation, the adolescent mentioned that the main suspect had changed significantly in recent months and had also frequently inquired about devices to ignite explosives, officials stated.