Austrian authorities announced a third arrest on Friday in connection with a failed plot to attack singer Taylor Swift's now-cancelled concerts, as distraught fans charmed Vienna by trading friendship bracelets and singing the pop star's songs in the streets.
The main suspect, a 19-year-old, planned to attack the spectators gathered outside the Ernst Happel Stadium, up to 30,000 each night, with another 65,000 inside the stadium, with knives or improvised explosive devices. during the concert on Thursday or Friday. The suspect hoped to “kill as many people as possible,” authorities said.
The 19-year-old main suspect was taken into custody Tuesday, along with a 17-year-old, officials said. Both are Austrian citizens.
The third suspect, an 18-year-old Iraqi national, was arrested on Thursday evening, the interior minister said at a press conference on Friday.
A 15-year-old was questioned but not arrested. Their names were not published, in accordance with Austrian privacy rules.
Singer Swift is expected to travel to London's Wembley Stadium for five concerts between August 15 and 20.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said that while he understood the reasons behind the cancellation of the concerts in Vienna, “we will move on”.
However, the Vienna plot prompted comparisons with a 2017 attack by a suicide bomber at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, which left 22 dead. The bomb exploded at the end of the concert as thousands of young fans were leaving, making it the deadliest extremist attack in the UK in recent years.
Coldplay is scheduled to perform four nights at the same Vienna stadium later this month.
Authorities said the plot was inspired by the Islamic State group and al-Qaeda. The main suspect, as well as the 18-year-old arrested on Thursday, “sworn allegiance” to the Islamic State.
Investigators discovered bomb-making materials in the main suspect's home, as well as Islamic State and al-Qaeda materials in the 17-year-old's home. The latter, who has so far refused to speak, was employed a few days ago in a company that provided services at the concert venue.
Although the 18-year-old swore and “comes from the social environment” of the prime suspect, Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said, he is not directly linked to the plot.
The Austrian Interior Ministry, in a statement to the Associated Press news agency on Friday, said that “his arrest underlines the wide scope of the ongoing investigation. The authorities are taking decisive action against anyone who may be involved in terrorist activity or who exhibits radical tendencies.”
Investigators are examining the suspects' “networks,” the statement said, and are evaluating physical and electronic evidence.
Shiraz Maher, an expert on Islamic extremism at the Department of War Studies at King's College London, said in a statement to the AP that attackers “prioritize (the number of) casualties and therefore choose soft targets where they know that a large number of people will gather.”
