Getty Image
Authorities intervening to prevent a mass shooting at a Taylor Swift concert in Austria potentially saved tens of thousands of lives, according to the CIA.
During the Intelligence Summit security conference in Maryland on Thursday, August 29, CIA Deputy Director David Cohen said that the ISIS-connected terrorists were aiming to kill “tens of thousands” of people at a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna, Austria, in early August.
Reports indicate the terrorists were planning on using knives and explosives to carry out their attack. Cohen also confirmed that information the CIA provided to the Austrian police was used to disrupt the plot.
“They were plotting to kill a huge number — tens of thousands of people at this concert, including, I am sure, many Americans — and were quite advanced in this,” Cohen said.
“The Austrians were able to make those arrests because the agency and our partners in the intelligence community provided them information about what this ISIS-connected group was planning to do.”
As a result of the foiled attack, Swift canceled all of her shows in Austria — which were expected to have over 200,000 attendees over the course of three shows — before resuming her popular Eras Tour in London a few weeks later.
“Walking onstage in London was a rollercoaster of emotions. Having our Vienna shows canceled was devastating. The reason for the cancellations filled me with a new sense of fear, and a tremendous amount of guilt because so many people had planned on coming to those shows,” Swift said in a statement.
“But I was also so grateful to the authorities because thanks to them, we were grieving concerts and not lives. I was heartened by the love and unity I saw in the fans who banded together.”
Three suspects have since been arrested in connection to the planned attack: a 19-year-old Austrian, who is reportedly the main suspect, a 17-year-old Austrian, and an 18-year-old Iraqi.
Beginning in March 2023 and concluding this December, The Eras Tour is both the highest-grossing tour of all time and the first tour to surpass $1 billion in revenue.