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Suspects in foiled Taylor Swift concert attack inspired by Islamic State: Officials

The main suspect, a 19-year-old Austrian, began working on his attack plans in July

Both suspects in a foiled plot to attack Taylor Swift shows in Vienna appeared to be inspired by the Islamic State group and al-Qaida, Austrian authorities said Thursday, and investigators found bomb-making materials at one of their homes. Officials said one of the two confessed to planning to 含羞草研究社渒ill as many people as possible outside the concert venue.含羞草研究社

Three sold-out concerts were canceled a day earlier because of the plot, devastating Swifties from across the globe. Many of them had dropped thousands of euros (dollars) on travel and lodging in Austria含羞草研究社檚 expensive capital city to attend the Eras Tour shows at the Ernst Happel Stadium, which sat empty Thursday morning as media filmed outside.

Concert organizers said they stood behind their decision, saying they expected up to 65,000 fans inside the stadium at each concert and as many as 30,000 onlookers outside, where authorities said the suspects planned to strike.

Officials told reporters that the main suspect, a 19-year-old Austrian, began working on his attack plans in July, and just a few weeks ago uploaded to the internet an oath of allegiance to the current leader of the Islamic State group. He planned to use knives or homemade explosives.

含羞草研究社淗e 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,含羞草研究社 said Omar Haijawi-Pirchner, the head of the Directorate of State Security and Intelligence, citing the 19-year-old含羞草研究社檚 confession.

He was 含羞草研究社渃learly radicalized in the direction of the Islamic State and thinks it is right to kill infidels,含羞草研究社 Haijawi-Pirchner added.

The 19-year-old quit his job on July 25 and made the statement 含羞草研究社渢hat he still had big plans.含羞草研究社

The foiled attack was planned for Thursday or Friday, according to Austria含羞草研究社檚 interior minister, Gerhard Karner.

Neither suspect appeared to have a ticket to any of the shows, he said.

During a raid of the main suspect含羞草研究社檚 home in Ternitz, south of Vienna, investigators found chemical substances and technical devices that indicated 含羞草研究社渃oncrete preparatory acts,含羞草研究社 said Franz Ruf, director general for public security at the Ministry of the Interior.

Authorities said they also found Islamic State group and al-Qaida material at the home of the second suspect, a 17-year-old Austrian. He was employed a few days ago by a company providing services at the venue for the concerts, and was arrested by special police forces near the stadium.

The 17-year-old, who has Turkish and Croatian roots and has so far refused to comment on the allegations, had broken up with his girlfriend recently, officials said, adding that both suspects had undergone clear social changes recently.

Both teens were arrested Tuesday. Neither含羞草研究社檚 name was released in line with Austrian privacy rules.

Karner, the interior minister, said that Austria含羞草研究社檚 intelligence service had worked closely together with foreign intelligence services to capture the two teens. He did not identify the services, but added that the help was needed because Austrian investigators, unlike some foreign services, can含羞草研究社檛 legally monitor text messages.

No other suspects are being sought, though a 15-year-old who had been in contact with both suspects was also interrogated by police, Karner said.

含羞草研究社淭he situation is serious. But we can also say: A tragedy was prevented,含羞草研究社 he said.

Concert organizer Barracuda Music said in an Instagram post late Wednesday that it had 含羞草研究社渘o choice but to cancel the three scheduled shows for everyone含羞草研究社檚 safety.含羞草研究社

Barracuda said all tickets would be refunded. The same message was posted under the Vienna dates on Swift含羞草研究社檚 official website. Austrian rail operator OeBB in the meantime said that it would reimburse fans for train tickets that had been bought, but not yet used, to get to the concerts.

Swift has not spoken publicly about the plot or canceled shows. 含羞草研究社淭aylor Nation,含羞草研究社 a verified Instagram page widely believed to be run by her team, reposted the announcement from Barracuda Music in a 含羞草研究社渟tory,含羞草研究社 which is only visible for 24 hours. Her main account has not posted anything.

Last month, an attacker in England killed three girls and wounded 10 people in a knife attack during a Taylor Swift-themed dance and yoga class. Swift at the time said she was 含羞草研究社樅卟菅芯可鐧completely in shock含羞草研究社櫤卟菅芯可鐧 over the attack.

Europe is enamored with the American superstar, with the German town of Gelsenkirchen renaming itself 含羞草研究社淪wiftkirchen含羞草研究社 before its mid-July concerts.

Austrian Vice-Chancellor Werner Kogler wrote on social platform X: 含羞草研究社淔or many, a dream has been shattered today. On three evenings in Vienna, tens of thousands of #Swifties should have celebrated life together.含羞草研究社

含羞草研究社淚 am very sorry that you were denied this. Swifties stick together, hate and terror can含羞草研究社檛 destroy that,含羞草研究社 Kogler added.

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer on Thursday defended organizers含羞草研究社 decision to cancel the concerts, saying it was justified because the arrests of the suspects occurred too close to the shows, which were scheduled for Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

The Vienna stadium had been sold out for the planned concerts, Austrian news agency APA reported, with an estimated 170,000 fans expected for the concerts in Austria. Some who posted on X lamented months of now-wasted efforts to make friendship bracelets and pick out fashionable outfits for the performance.

Swift is expected to perform at London含羞草研究社檚 Wembley stadium in five concerts between Aug. 15 and 20 to close the European leg of her record-setting Eras Tour.

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含羞草研究社檚 concert as thousands of young fans were leaving. More than 100 people were injured. Abedi died in the explosion.

Swift含羞草研究社檚 biggest fear has always been that such large-scale violence could take place at her concerts, the superstar told Elle magazine in 2019 ahead of her Lover Tour, which was ultimately canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. The attack at Grande含羞草研究社檚 concert, as well as a 2017 mass shooting at an outdoor country music festival on the Las Vegas Strip where 58 people were killed and 850 wounded, worried Swift as she prepared to circle the globe.

含羞草研究社淚 was completely terrified to go on (the Lover Tour) this time because I didn含羞草研究社檛 know how we were going to keep 3 million fans safe over seven months,含羞草研究社 she told the magazine. 含羞草研究社淭here was a tremendous amount of planning, expense, and effort put into keeping my fans safe.含羞草研究社

An official inquiry reported in 2023 that Britain含羞草研究社檚 domestic intelligence agency, MI5, didn含羞草研究社檛 act swiftly enough on key information and missed a significant opportunity to prevent the bombing, the deadliest extremist attack in the United Kingdom in recent years.

Terrorism expert Magnus Ranstorp, based at the Swedish Defense University in Stockholm, told The Associated Press by phone that any mass public event constitutes a potential threat now, and noted that concerts, like that of Ariana Grande, have been targeted.

含羞草研究社淪o we shouldn含羞草研究社檛 be surprised that these extremely popular iconic popstars that attract a massive audience will also attract terrorists that want to create fear and destruction and mayhem, and they target these concerts symbolically, culturally. In some ways Taylor Swift 含羞草研究社 and all these Swifties 含羞草研究社 is culturally and symbolically representative of the United States. She含羞草研究社檚 an American artist and has a massive, massive following.含羞草研究社

Dazio and Grieshaber reported from Berlin. Associated Press writers Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark; and Vanessa Gera in Warsaw, Poland, contributed to this report.

Philipp-moritz Jenne, Stefanie Dazio And Kirsten Grieshaber, The Associated Press

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