Entertainment
ISIS suspects plan to ‘bomb gig and mow down fans’
Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour was shocked this week by a foiled terrorist attack in Vienna.
August 8, 2024, updated at 8:45 am ET
New details have since emerged Taylor Swift was forced to do so cancel three shows after a foiled terrorist plot to her and her fans.
The 34-year-old superstar singer had to cancel three shows in Vienna after a small group of ISIS-inspired suspects plotted to attack the location of the Ernst Happel Stadium where she would perform on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings.
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Swift, 34, was forced to cancel three shows after the foiled terrorist plot against her and her fans.
Vienna police said the suspects had hired friends as security for the event. The three suspects – aged 19, 17 and 15 – reportedly planned to “bomb the gig and mow down fans” before the terror plot was foiled by US intelligence services and Europol.
One suspect, a 19-year-old Austrian whose name has not been released, apparently planned to drive a car among the roughly 20,000 fans expected to gather at Swift’s first concert Thursday evening.
Friends of the three suspects are also said to have infiltrated security during the event. They were hired to help set up and supervise the three shows.
Knives and machetes were also said to be part of the failed ISIS-inspired attack plans.
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Fans lined up for the Folklore singer’s concert in Germany earlier this month.
If RadarOnline.com reported, the Folklore The singer was scheduled to perform three nights in Vienna this week as part of her European leg Eras tour.
The promoter of Swift’s three Vienna shows, Barracuda Music, announced The pop star’s concerts were canceled after the “planned terrorist attack” came to light on Wednesday.
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Barracuda Music said in a rack: “Taylor Swift The Eras tour Performances in Vienna canceled due to confirmation from government officials about a planned terrorist attack.
“With the confirmation from government officials of a planned terrorist attack at Ernst Happel Stadium, we have no choice but to cancel the three scheduled shows for everyone’s safety.
“All tickets will be automatically refunded within the next ten business days.”
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The main suspect, the 19-year-old Austrian, was arrested by federal and state police Wednesday morning in the town of Ternitz. There was a second suspect arrested in Vienna later the same day.
Public Safety Director Franz Ruf confirmed that authorities had been informed of “preparatory actions” for a planned attack at Swift’s concert. He also claimed that the suspects had been “radicalized by the internet.”
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Ruf said during one press conference: “The two suspects were radicalized by the internet, a 19-year-old citizen from Lower Austria took an oath of allegiance to the current leader of ISIS in early July.”
The suspects are said to have taken “concrete preparatory measures” for the attacks before the threat was “minimized”. The police also suspected explosives were stored at the main suspect’s home in Ternitz.
Chemical substances found at the home of the main suspect, an investigation is still underway.
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Swift still plans to make the next stop of her Eras Tour in London on August 15.
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, 51, acknowledged that the cancellation of Swift’s shows was a “bitter disappointment for all fans in Austria”, but he also insisted that a tragedy had been averted.
Chancellor Nehammer said of X: “We live in a time when violent means are used to attack our Western way of life. Islamist terrorism threatens security and freedom in many Western countries.
“That is precisely why we will not give up our values such as freedom and democracy, but will defend them even more fiercely.”
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The Anti hero hitmaker would perform 65,000 fans every night at the Ernst Happel Stadium. She still plans to make the next stop hers Eras tour at London’s Wembley Stadium on August 15, despite terror threats in Vienna this week.
A source close to the Love story singer said: “We will continue working for the next shows in London after the stop in Austria, but it certainly wasn’t an easy day.”
RadarOnline.com has reached out to Swift’s team for comment.
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