Two suspects in a foiled plot to attack Taylor Swift shows in Vienna confessed to planning to “kill as many people as possible outside the concert venue,” and appeared to be inspired by the Islamic State group and al-Qaida, according to Austrian authorities.
Investigators also discovered bomb-making materials at the homes of one of the suspects.
Three of Swift’s sold-out shows in Vienna have been canceled as a result. The pop megastar was due to perform at the city’s Ernst Happel Stadium on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Austrian government authorities said on Wednesday that they had arrested two suspected extremists: a 19-year-old, who was arrested in the town of Ternitz, south of Vienna; and another person who was apprehended in Vienna, the Associated Press reported.
Officials told the press that the main suspect started planning for the attack in July, uploading an internet oath of allegiance to the current leader of the Islamic State group militia, just a few weeks ago. Additionally, reporting suggests that the plan was to use knives and homemade explosives to carry out the attack.
“He wanted to carry out an attack in the area outside the stadium, killing as many people as possible using the knives or even using the explosive devices he had made,” said Omar Haijawi-Pirchner, the head of the Directorate of State Security and Intelligence.
He was “clearly radicalized in the direction of the Islamic State and thinks it is right to kill infidels,” Haijawi-Pirchner added.
Authorities also found Islamic State group and al-Qaida material at the home of the second suspect, a 17-year-old Austrian.
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