A 19-year-old terrorism suspect who has pledged allegiance to ISIS was arrested in Austria on Wednesday morning in connection with an alleged plot to target a Taylor Swift concert scheduled for this week but cancelled in Vienna.
A second suspect in the plot, who had reportedly been radicalised online, was arrested later the same day. ABC News reported..
The Los Angeles Times, citing Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung, reported that the 19-year-old man was of “North Macedonian descent” and “lived with his family in Telnitz” and was arrested on “strong suspicion of terrorism.”
The 19-year-old Austrian national pledged allegiance to the Islamic State leader in early July and had been paying particular attention to Swift’s concerts, ABC News reported, citing Franz Ruff, head of public security at the Austrian Ministry of the Interior.
Swift’s performances scheduled for Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Vienna’s Ernst Happel Stadion were canceled on Wednesday. The Associated Press reported.Each show was expected to draw a crowd of 65,000, according to ABC News. “For everyone’s safety, we have been forced to cancel three scheduled shows,” event organizers Barracuda Music said in an Instagram post, the Associated Press added.
According to NBC News, explosives disposal units reportedly found chemicals during the 19-year-old’s arrest, and investigators are investigating whether the substances may have been used to make a bomb.
The 19-year-old, who has “North Macedonian roots” and “lived with his family in Telnitz”, was arrested on “strong suspicion of terrorism”, police said. Los Angeles TimesCiting an Austrian newspaper Kronen ZeitungTelnitz is located about 43 miles south of Vienna, according to the Times.
anything else?
It’s not at all clear if there is any connection to Wednesday’s arrests, but none of the aforementioned outlets mentioned the deadly mass stabbing that took place in Southport, England on July 29th at a Taylor Swift-themed children’s dance class, in which a 17-year-old man killed three people and injured numerous others.
Authorities initially said they had no evidence that terrorism was a motive for the attack, angering many who accused the government of suppressing evidence. Identified Prosecutors arrested suspect Axel Rudakubana and charged him with three counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder. Authorities confirmed that the suspect is from Cardiff, but noted that both of his parents are Rwandan.
Unrest and violence erupted in the days following the stabbing, spreading across Britain. Prime Minister Keir Starmer Condemned He blamed the violence on “far-right thugs.”
Radio host Glenn BeckJohn F. Kennedy, co-founder of Blaze Media, said on Tuesday that the deadly knife attack revealed a “dual justice” in Britain in which police more or less ignore crimes committed by Muslim immigrants while harshly punishing non-Muslims.
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