A teenager posted a video online in which he confessed to the plot and told people he had “big plans” (File)
Berlin:
A 19-year-old has been arrested in Austria for allegedly plotting to kill people outside a stadium during a Taylor Swift concert, prompting the cancellation of the pop superstar’s three shows in Vienna this week.
Two other teenagers have been identified as suspects.
Here’s what security officials said about the three.
THE 19 YEAR OLD
The Austrian with North Macedonian roots was arrested in the early hours of Wednesday during a police operation at his home in Ternitz, a town near the Hungarian border.
The teenager, who posted a video online confessing to the plot, resigned on July 25 and told people he had “big plans,” public security chief Franz Ruf told reporters on Thursday.
The suspect had recently changed his appearance and had been consuming and sharing Islamic propaganda online, security officials said, adding that he had pledged allegiance to Islamic State but also harbored sympathies for Al Qaeda.
A neighbor told Austrian broadcaster Puls24 that the young man kept himself to himself and that he had grown a “Taliban beard”.
During a search of his home, law enforcement authorities secured several substances and tools used for building bombs, as well as Islamic State propaganda, 21,000 euros ($23,000) in counterfeit money, machetes, knives and loose ammunition.
The Kurier newspaper reported, based on sources familiar with the situation, that the suspect had stolen the chemicals from his former workshop, a metal processing company also in Ternitz. Officials did not comment on where he obtained the chemicals, adding that this was a focus of their investigation.
THE 17 YEAR OLD
After initially tipped off to one suspect, Austrian investigators came across the other two, including a 17-year-old Austrian with Turkish-Croatian roots who was arrested in Vienna on Wednesday afternoon.
He had behaved conspicuously in the vicinity of the Ernst Happel Stadium, where Swift’s stadium shows would take place on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
The 17-year-old had gotten a job a few days ago with a company that provided services at the stadium.
The boy, who also appears to have been radicalized and was already known to authorities, had recently broken up with his girlfriend, Ruf said.
He has yet to make a statement to police, so his exact role in the plot is unclear, but he had extensive contact with the main suspect, officials said.
THE 15 YEAR OLD
The third and final suspect is an Austrian citizen of Turkish descent.
During interrogation, the youth said that the main suspect had changed considerably in recent months and also regularly inquired about devices to ignite explosives, officials said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
