LONDON — A third teenager has been arrested in connection with the aborted attack on the now cancelled Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna, according to an announcement by Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner on Friday.
Karner, who made the announcement at an unrelated news conference, said the 18-year-old Iraqi national was arrested in the Austrian capital on Thursday night after being in contact with the main suspect – a 19-year-old Austrian national. who was arrested early Wednesday. A 17-year-old suspected accomplice – another Austrian national – was also arrested later on Wednesday.
Karner noted that “intense investigations” are continuing.
A 15-year-old Turkish national was previously arrested and questioned by authorities but is not considered a suspect.
Taylor Swift’s three concerts in Vienna were canceled after the first two suspects were arrested for planning a terror attack, authorities said.
“We have no choice but to cancel the three scheduled performances for everyone’s safety,” a statement from Barracuda Music said. “All tickets will be automatically refunded.”
Cars pass in Caile, where the main suspect of planning an attack at the site of three Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna is from, in North Macedonia, August 8, 2024. REUTERS/Ognen Teofilovski
Oven Teofilovski/Reuters
The suspects are said to have radicalized themselves online, said Franz Ruf, Director General of Public Security at the Ministry of the Interior, at a press conference. The 19-year-old suspect reportedly pledged allegiance to the Islamic State leader in early July, Ruf said.
Investigators are not convinced that the alleged plot would have worked and they do not know if a working bomb was produced. But Vienna investigators found explosive precursor chemicals that showed some degree of motivation and planning, sources told ABC News.
Investigators in Austria are looking at surveillance footage to determine if one or more of the suspects had previously visited the concert venue for reconnaissance or if they had visited other potential targets.
As ABC News previously reported, police officials have been concerned about mass fundraising attacks since the deadly assault on the Moscow concert hall earlier this year claimed by ISIS-K.