A third teenager has been arrested in connection with a plot to carry out a terrorist attack at a Taylor Swift concert in Austria.
Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said an 18-year-old Iraqi national had been detained on Thursday afternoon in Vienna after allegedly being in contact with the 19-year-old main suspect.
Karner said the third teen “is not directly related to the attack plans” but comes from the same social circle as the main suspect.
Swift’s three planned shows at Ernst Happel Stadium were canceled Wednesday by event organizers Barracuda Music after they said she had a duty to protect everyone’s safety.
Read more: What security measures are in place for concerts at Wembley?
Authorities in Vienna said Thursday that the main suspect, said to have roots in North Macedonia, wanted use weapons outside the stadium to kill as many people as possible.
Omar Haijawi-Pirchner, head of the state security and intelligence directorate, said the suspect was “clearly radicalized in the direction of the Islamic State (IS) and believes that it is right to kill infidels.”
The main suspect and the 18-year-old took “oaths of loyalty” to IS, authorities said.
Addressing the plot on Friday, United Nations spokesperson Alessandra Vellucci said it was a “good demonstration that the radicalization of people through the use of social media is really a concern.”
Swifties reunite in Vienna after canceled concerts. Photo: AP
A 17-year-old boy has also been arrested. According to officials, the Austrian national, of Turkish and Croatian origin, had started working at the concert venue days before Swift’s shows were canceled due to the terrorist threat.
No additional suspects are being sought.
Police questioned a 15-year-old boy, but did not arrest him.
Photo: AP
Photo: AP
Concert organizers in Austria said they expected up to 65,000 fans inside the stadium at each concert and up to 30,000 spectators outside, where authorities said the suspect planned to attack.
Heartbroken fans gathered in the Austrian capital on Friday as they came to terms with missing out on the record-breaking Eras tour.
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Fans, some of whom were photographed crying and hugging, cheered, danced and exchanged friendship bracelets as they sang Swift’s songs and took selfies with each other.
Swift will perform five nights at London’s Wembley Stadium next week, August 15-20.
The shows will close the European leg of the tour, which lasts more than three hours and consists of more than 40 songs from all of the pop star’s studio albums.
Swift has not commented on the canceled shows.
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