Foiled attack on Taylor Swift concert in Austria: What we know

Taylor Swift’s three concerts scheduled in Vienna this weekend were canceled after Austrian officials uncovered a terrorist plot targeting the concert venue.

“With confirmation from government officials of a planned terrorist attack at Ernst Happel Stadium, we have no choice but to cancel the three scheduled shows for everyone’s safety,” Barracuda Music said in a post Wednesday.

Two suspects were initially arrested before the event was canceled, with a third detained Thursday.

Swift fans will have their tickets refunded, and the pop star is still expected to perform the last five concerts of her tour in London’s Wembley Stadium between Aug. 15 and 20.

Here’s what we know about the foiled attack.

Third suspect arrested

A third teenage suspect has been arrested in connection to the terrorist attack plot.

The suspect is an 18-year-old Iraqi citizen, who was arrested Thursday evening, the Austrian interior minister said Friday. A 15-year-old suspect was also interrogated but not arrested.

Austrian officials have not released the names of the suspects due to the country’s privacy laws.

Links to Islamic State group 

The two suspects initially arrested were inspired by the Islamic State group and al Qaeda, according to Austrian authorities.

The main suspect, a 19-year-old Austrian with North Macedonian roots, showed signs of radicalization leading up to this week. A few weeks ago, he posted an oath of allegiance to the leader of the Islamic State group online. He had also gone through social changes, recently quitting his job, breaking up with his girlfriend and changing his appearance.

The second suspect, who is 17 years old, had “Islamic State group and al-Qaida material” at his home, according to authorities.

The third arrestee is also connected to the Islamic State group and believed to have sworn an oath of allegiance, authorities say.

‘Kill as many people as possible‘

Officials have said that one of the two suspects initially arrested confessed that the plan was to “kill as many people as possible outside the concert venue.”

As many as 65,000 fans were expected to be inside the stadium each of the three nights Swift was in town, with up to 30,000 fans listening outside the stadium. The suspects planned to target those exterior of the stadium.

“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.

Local media has reported that the suspects had planned a variety of attacks, including making use of knives, homemade bombs, and allegedly planning to drive a car into the crowd outside the stadium.

Fans take to Vienna streets

Following the cancellation, Swifties — as Swift’s fans are called — took to the streets of Austria to demonstrate defiance against the planned attack.

Concertgoers gathered on Corneliusgasse, a road that resembles “Cornelia Street,” the name of a Swift song and spot in New York City.

Some restaurants and cafes gave away food and drink, museums offered free admission, and a church played Swift songs into the street, according to the BBC.

Last week, three children were killed in an attack on a Swift-themed dance class in the U.K.

“The horror of yesterday’s attack in Southport is washing over me continuously, and I’m just completely in shock,” the pop star wrote on Instagram.

The planned attack in Vienna was also reminiscent of a terrorist attack after an Ariana Grande concert in 2017, when 22 people were killed by a suicide bombing in Manchester Arena in the U.K.