The third suspect allegedly was in contact with the main suspect, a 19-year-old who officials said has been 'clearly radicalized in the direction of the Islamic State and thinks it is right to kill infidels.'
A third suspect — an 18-year-old Iraqi citizen — has been arrested in connection with a foiled Taylor Swift concert terror plot in Austria, ABC News reported.
The third suspect was taken into custody Thursday evening in Vienna after allegedly being in contact with a 19-year-old Austrian citizen — the main suspect — Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said Friday, according to the news network.
The main suspect 'wanted to carry out an attack in the area outside the stadium, killing as many people as possible using the knives or even using the explosive devices he had made,' Haijawi-Pirchner added to the AP.
A 17-year-old suspected accomplice — another Austrian citizen — also has been arrested, and Karner said “intensive investigations” are continuing, ABC News reported. Authorities detained and interrogated a 15-year-old Turkish citizen, but that individual is not considered a suspect the news network said.
Swift's shows that had been scheduled for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday this week at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion in Vienna were canceled for safety reasons.
Officials said the 19-year-old Austrian suspect began working on his terror plot in July and just a few weeks ago uploaded to the internet an oath of allegiance to the leader of the Islamic State group militia, the Associated Press reported.
He was “clearly radicalized in the direction of the Islamic State and thinks it is right to kill infidels,” said Omar Haijawi-Pirchner, head of the Directorate of State Security and Intelligence, according to the outlet.
The main suspect "wanted to carry out an attack in the area outside the stadium, killing as many people as possible using the knives or even using the explosive devices he had made," Haijawi-Pirchner added to the AP.
Concert organizers told the outlet they were expecting up to 65,000 Swift fans inside the stadium at each show — and as many as 30,000 onlookers outside the stadium.
Karner told the AP that the foiled attack was planned for Thursday or Friday, and the outlet added that neither the 19-year-old suspect nor the 17-year-old suspect appeared to have a ticket to any of Swift's shows.
More from the AP:
During a raid of the main suspect’s home in Ternitz, south of Vienna, investigators found chemical substances and technical devices that indicated “concrete preparatory acts,” said Franz Ruf, Director General for Public Security at the Ministry of the Interior.
Authorities also found Islamic State group and al-Qaida material at the home of the second suspect, a 17-year-old Austrian. He was employed a few days ago by a company providing services at the venue for the concerts, and was arrested by special police forces near the stadium.
The AP's story referenced the deadly July 29 mass stabbing at a Taylor Swift-themed children's dance class in Southport, England, during which a 17-year-old male was accused of killing three and injuring numerous other victims. Swift at the time said she was ‘’completely in shock’’ over the attack, the AP reported.
Officials initially said there was no evidence that terrorism was a motive in the Southport knife attack, which angered many who accused the government of covering up evidence. Police identified suspect Axel Rudakubana and charged him with three counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder. Officials identified him as being from Cardiff but also noted that his parents are Rwandan.
Unrest and violence erupted the day after the stabbings and have spread across the United Kingdom. Prime Minister Keir Starmer denounced the violence and blamed "far-right thuggery."
However, now-suspended U.K. Labour Party Councillor Ricky Jones reportedly was arrested this week on suspicion of encouraging murder of anti-immigration protesters after an outdoor speech in London in front of a rabid, far-left crowd during which he hollered, "They are disgusting, nasty fascists, and we need to cut all their throats and get rid of them all!" A video of the speech shows him sliding his finger across his neck as he spoke; he then led a “free, free Palestine!" chant.
Radio host Glenn Beck, co-founder of Blaze Media, earlier this week opined that "two-tier justice" — in which police more or less ignore Muslim immigrant crime but come down hard on non-Muslims — has been laid bare in the U.K. in the wake of the deadly knife attack.
ISIS took credit for a 2017 bombing attack at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, that killed 22. Suicide bomber Salman Abedi set up a knapsack bomb in Manchester Arena at the end of Grande’s concert as thousands of young fans were leaving, the AP said, adding that more than 100 were injured, and Abedi died in the explosion.
An official inquiry concluded that Britain’s domestic intelligence agency, MI5, didn’t act fast enough on key intelligence and missed a chance to prevent the bombing, the AP added.
Swift is expected to perform five concerts at London’s Wembley Stadium between Aug. 15 and 20 to close the European leg of her Eras Tour, the AP said.
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