Updated August 08, 2024 at 05:16 AM ET
VIENNA — Austria's intelligence chief says chemical substances were found at the house of a 19-year-old Austrian suspected of planning an attack on upcoming Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna.
Franz Ruf, the public security director at Austria's Interior Ministry, said Thursday in an interview with public broadcaster ORF's Oe1 program that following the arrest of two suspects earlier this week, investigators found chemical substances and and technical devices at the 19-year-old suspect's house.
Ruf said these are now being evaluated. Just a few weeks ago, the suspect had uploaded an oath of allegiance to the current leader of the Islamic State group militia to an internet account, he added.
The cancellations devastated Swifties across the globe, many of whom had dropped thousands of euros on travel and lodging in Austria's expensive capital city for the sold-out Eras Tour shows on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the Ernst Happel Stadium, which sat empty Thursday morning aside from media filming outside.
Event organizer Barracuda Music said in a post on its Instagram channel late Wednesday that "we have no choice but to cancel the three scheduled shows for everyone's safety." It cited government officials' "confirmation" of a planned attack at the stadium.
Earlier Wednesday, authorities said they had arrested two suspected extremists, one of whom appeared to be planning an attack on an event in the Vienna area such as the upcoming concerts.
The 19-year-old main suspect was arrested in Ternitz, south of Vienna, and the second person in the Austrian capital.
Ruf, the public security director at Austria's Interior Ministry, said authorities were aware of "preparatory actions" for a possible attack "and also that there is a focus by the 19-year-old perpetrator on the Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna," the Austria Press Agency reported.
The Austrian citizen is believed to have become radicalized on the internet. Ruf said that chemical substances were secured and were being evaluated. He didn't give more details.
The cancellation came hours after authorities said security measures for the Swift concerts would be stepped up. Ruf said that there would be a special focus, among other things, on entry checks, and concertgoers should plan a bit more time.
Vienna Police Chief Gerhard Pürstl said at the same time that, while any concrete danger had been minimized, an abstract risk justified raising security.
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said in a post on social network X that “the cancelation of the Taylor Swift concerts by the organizers is a bitter disappointment for all fans in Austria.”
“The situation surrounding the apparently planned terror attack in Vienna was very serious,” he wrote. But he added that, thanks to intensive cooperation between police, Austrian and foreign intelligence, “the threat could be recognized early on, tackled and a tragedy prevented.”
Barracuda Music said that “all tickets will be automatically refunded within the next 10 business days.” The same wording was posted under the Vienna dates on Swift's official website.
The Vienna stadium had been sold out for the planned concerts, APA reported, with an estimated 170,000 fans expected for the concerts in Austria.
Swift fans took to social media to express their devastation at missing out on one of the superstar's shows. Some who posted on X lamented months of now-wasted efforts to make friendship bracelets and pick out fashionable outfits for the performance.
Annmarie Timmins, a journalist who traveled from the U.S. for Thursday’s show, said she and her husband were waiting for the subway after dinner when they heard the news.
“I can’t even believe it,” she said. “There was a girl with her mom who looked so sad — even more than me. I gave her one of my bracelets. I wanted to hug her.”
In 2017, an attack at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, killed 22 people. Suicide bomber Salman Abedi set up a knapsack bomb in Manchester Arena at the end of Grande's concert as thousands of young fans were leaving. More than 100 people were injured. Abedi died in the explosion.
Copyright 2024 NPR
