Austria arrests ISIS suspect plotting attack targeting Taylor Swift concert in Vienna

Austrian authorities said Wednesday they have arrested a 19-year-old man for allegedly planning an attack in the Vienna region, including in connection with concerts by US star Taylor Swift later this week.

The Vienna leg of a tour by American mega-star Taylor Swift has been cancelled after Austria arrested a man in connection with an attack plot, the organizers said Wednesday.

Authorities had earlier confirmed the arrest of a 19-year-old ISIS sympathiser for allegedly planning an attack in the Vienna region, warning he had a “focus” on Swift’s three upcoming shows.

“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 on Instagram.

The organizers added that all would-be concert-goers would have their tickets refunded. About 65,000 spectators were expected at each show scheduled for Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

The man, who had pledged his allegiance to ISIS “in recent weeks”, was detained in Lower Austria about an hour from the capital early on Wednesday, Austria’s top security chief Franz Ruf told a press conference.

“We have established corresponding preparatory acts and also that there is a focus of the 19-year-old perpetrator on the Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna,” Ruf said.

He said that chemical substances had been seized at the suspect’s home.

A second person believed to have been in contact with the suspect was arrested in Vienna.

According to initial investigation findings, both suspects radicalized themselves on the internet.

In November 2020, a convicted ISIS sympathiser went on a shooting rampage in downtown Vienna, killing four and wounding 23 others before police shot him dead.

It marked the Alpine nation’s first deadly extremist attack.