Two Arrested In Alleged ISIS-Linked Terrorist Plot Before Taylor Swift Concerts Canceled In Vienna

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Two suspects have been arrested for allegedly plotting a ISIS-related terror attack at Taylor Swift’s upcoming show in Vienna, Austria.

One suspect, a 19-year-old Austrian male living in his parents’ home near Vienna in Ternitz, was arrested Wednesday morning. The other suspect was arrested Wednesday afternoon, but no details were initially given about him.

“According to the current status of the investigation, the two suspects became radicalized via the internet,” said Austrian General Director for Public Security Franz Ruf.

The first suspect reportedly made “an oath of allegiance” to Islamic State at the beginning of July, the BBC reports.

“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.

During the arrest, numerous houses near the suspects home were evacuated while it was searched. The search yielded various chemicals and substances that are currently being examined.

Austria’s Task Force Cobra unit assisted with the arrest.

Taylor Swift was scheduled to perform concerts in Vienna at the Ernst-Happel Stadium this Thursday, Friday and Saturday with 65,000 to 85,000 people expected to be in attendance at each show. However, the run was canceled in the wake of the news going public.

The BBC reports Ruf initially said police were taking every measure to ensure that all the events around Vienna would take place safely and that there would be a special focus on checking attendees at the entrances to Taylor Swift’s concerts.

Gerhard Purstl, the chief of police in Vienna, said that “the concrete danger has been minimized”, adding that security checks including vehicle checks in and around the concerts would be increased, special forces would be deployed in the area around the stadium, and police dog teams and anti-terror units would be on site.