Three Taylor Swift concerts scheduled for this weekend in Vienna have been cancelled after Austrian authorities discovered a terror plot targeting the concert venues.
“After government authorities confirmed that a terrorist attack was planned at Ernst Happel Stadium, we are forced to cancel the three scheduled shows for everyone’s safety,” Barracuda Music said in a post on Wednesday.
Two suspects were arrested before the event was canceled, and a third was taken into custody Thursday.
Swift’s fans will be able to get refunds for their tickets, and the pop star is due to perform the final five shows of the tour at London’s Wembley Stadium between August 15 and 20.
Here’s what we know about the thwarted attack:
Third suspect arrested
A third teenage suspect has been arrested in connection with the terrorist attack plot.
Austria’s interior minister said Friday that the suspect, an 18-year-old Iraqi, had been arrested Thursday night. A 15-year-old suspect was also questioned but not arrested.
Austrian authorities have not released the suspect’s name due to the country’s privacy laws.
Links to the Islamic State group
Austrian authorities said the two suspects originally arrested were Islamic State and al-Qaida-inspired individuals.
The main attacker, a 19-year-old Austrian of North Macedonian descent, had shown signs of radicalization leading up to this week: A few weeks ago, he posted an online pledge of allegiance to the leader of the Islamic State. He had also undergone social changes, having recently quit his job, split up with his girlfriend and changed his appearance.
Authorities said the second suspect, a 17-year-old, had “Islamic State and al-Qaida materials” in his home.
Authorities said the third person arrested also had ties to the Islamic State and was believed to have taken an oath of allegiance to the group.
“Kill as many people as possible‘
Authorities said one of the two suspects originally arrested confessed that their plan was to “kill as many people as possible outside the concert venue.”
As many as 65,000 fans were expected to attend each night of Swift’s three-night stay inside the stadium, with as many as 30,000 fans expected to watch outside, and the suspect planned to target fans outside the stadium.
“He intended to carry out the attack in the area outside the stadium and kill as many people as possible using a knife or a homemade explosive device,” said Omar Hajjawi Pirchner, director of the National Security Intelligence Agency.
Local media reported that the suspects were planning a range of attacks, including using knives or homemade bombs, as well as planning to drive a car into crowds outside the stadium.
Fans rally on the streets of Vienna
Following the cancellation, Swift’s fans, known as “Swifties,” took to the streets of Austria in a show of resistance to the planned attack.
Concert-goers gathered on Corneliusgasse, a street that resembles “Cornelia Street,” the name of a Swift song and a New York spot.
Some restaurants and cafes offered free food and drinks, museums waived admission fees, and churches performed Swift’s songs in the streets. According to To the BBC.
Last week, three children were killed in an attack on a Swift-themed dance class in the UK.
“The horror of yesterday’s attack in Southport continues to haunt me and I am in complete shock,” the pop star wrote on Instagram.
The planned attack in Vienna was reminiscent of the 2017 terror attack in which a suicide bomber killed 22 people at Manchester Arena after an Ariana Grande concert.
