3rd teenager in custody over foiled plot targeting Taylor Swift shows in Vienna
CTV
A third teenager has been arrested in connection with a foiled attack on now-cancelled Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna, Austria's interior minister said Friday.
Austrian authorities on Friday announced a third arrest in connection with the foiled conspiracy to attack three now-cancelled Taylor Swift concerts, even as disappointed fans charmed Vienna by trading friendship bracelets and singing the pop star's songs in the streets.
The main suspect, a 19-year-old, planned to target onlookers gathered outside Ernst Happel Stadium -- up to 30,000 each night, with another 65,000 inside the venue -- with knives or homemade explosives during the concert on Thursday or Friday. The suspect hoped to "kill as many people as possible," authorities said.
The 19-year-old main suspect was taken into custody on Tuesday, along with a 17-year-old, officials said. Both are Austrian citizens.
The third suspect, an 18-year-old Iraqi citizen, was arrested Thursday evening, the interior minister said at an unrelated news conference Friday.
A 15-year-old was also interrogated but was not arrested. Their names were not released, in line with Austrian privacy rules.
Swift is still set to travel to London's Wembley stadium for five concerts between Aug. 15 and 20 to close the European leg of her record-setting Eras Tour.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said that while he understood Vienna's reasons for cancelling, "We're going to carry on."
