More details are emerging about the alleged terror attack that was planned for Taylor Swift’s Vienna Eras Tour concerts.
Swift was scheduled to perform three shows at Vienna’s Ernst Happel Stadium from August 8 to August 10 before the authorities learned of a suspected threat. The shows were subsequently canceled as two suspects were taken into custody in connection to the crime.
“Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour Vienna shows [have been] canceled due to government officials’ confirmation of planned terrorist attack,” read a statement from concert organizers Barracuda Music. “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.”
The threat came one month after a stabbing at a Swift-themed dance class left two children dead. Swift addressed the incident in an emotional social media message.
“The horror of yesterday’s attack in Southport is washing over me continuously, and I’m just completely in shock,” she wrote via her Instagram Story in July. “The loss of life and innocence, and the horrendous trauma inflicted on everyone who was there, the families and first responders. These were just little kids at a dance class. I am at a complete loss for how to ever convey my sympathies to these families.”
Keep scrolling for details released by the authorities about the terror threat:
How Was the Attack Uncovered?
Concert promoter Barracuda Music confirmed on August 7 that credible government intelligence of a “planned terrorist attack” on the venue led to all three concerts being canceled. Vienna’s State Police Director Franz Ruf and Police Chief Gerhard Purstl confirmed the arrests of two suspects that same day.
One of the men taken into custody was a 19-year-old with alleged ties to ISIS. According to the authorities, there were specific plans to carry out an attack at Swift’s concert.
What Has Been Revealed About the Motivations and Suspects Behind the Planned Attack?
Officials revealed on August 8 that the main suspect began working on his attack plans in July. He allegedly posted to the internet an oath of allegiance to the current leader of the Islamic State group militia. Based on a raid on the suspect’s home, he planned to use knives or homemade explosives.
The second suspect was also inspired by the Islamic State group and al-Qaeda, according to Austrian authorities. The Associated Press reported officials said that one of the two confessed to planning to “kill as many people as possible outside the concert venue.”
“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 the head of the Directorate of State Security and Intelligence Omar Haijawi-Pirchner about the main suspect’s plans, noting that the teenager was “clearly radicalized in the direction of the Islamic State and thinks it is right to kill infidels.”
Has Anyone Been Arrested for Planning the Attack?
Due to Austrian privacy rules, the suspects names have not been publicly released. However, there have been three arrests in connection with the attack.
Austria’s interior minister Gerhard Karner speculated that the foiled attack was planned for either August 7 or August 9. The second suspect — a 17-year-old — was employed a few days prior by a company providing services at the venue for the concerts. Neither of the two men had tickets to the concert and they were ultimately arrested by special police forces near the stadium.
The interior minister confirmed that no other suspects were being considered at the time. However, a 15-year-old who was in contact with both suspects was interrogated by the authorities.
“The situation was serious, the situation is serious,” Karner stated, according to AP. “But we can also say: A tragedy was prevented.”
A third suspect in connection with the planned attack was arrested on August 9, Karner confirmed. The 18-year-old “comes from the social environment” as the main suspect, he stated per the AP.
“He had been in contact with the main perpetrator, but is not directly connected to the attack plans,” Karner’s statement continued. “But, as was found out a few days ago, he took an oath of allegiance specifically to the IS on August 6.”
Has Taylor Swift Addressed the Terror Plot?
Swift spoke out via Instagram on August 21 after wrapping up the European leg of the tour at London’s Wembley Stadium on August 20.
“Having our Vienna shows canceled was devastating. The reason for the cancellations filled me with a new sense of fear, and a tremendous amount of guilt because so many people had planned on coming to those shows,” she wrote in a lengthy statement. “But I was also so grateful to the authorities because thanks to them, we were grieving concerts and not lives. I was heartened by the love and unity I saw in the fans who banded together. I decided that all of my energy had to go toward helping to protect the nearly half a million people I had coming to see the shows in London. My team and I worked hand in hand with stadium staff and British authorities every day in pursuit of that goal, and I want to thank them for everything they did for us.”
Swift also addressed criticism she received for waiting to speak out.
“Let me be very clear: I am not going to speak about something publicly if I think doing so might provoke those who would want to harm the fans who come to my shows,” she wrote. “In cases like this one, ‘silence’ is actually showing restraint, and waiting to express yourself at a time when it’s right to. My priority was finishing our European tour safely, and it is with great relief that I can say we did that.”
How Deadly Was the Terror Attack Intended to Be?
David S. Cohen, the deputy director of the CIA, revealed during the Intelligence and National Security Summit on August 29 that the attack was intended to kill a “huge” number of people.
“They were plotting to kill a huge number —tens of thousands of people at this concert, including, I am sure, many Americans,” Cohen said. “The Austrians were able to make those arrests because the agency and our partners in the intelligence community provided them information about what this ISIS-connected group was planning to do.”
