Chemicals found at home of Taylor Swift attack suspect, officials say : NPR

VIENNA — Austria’s intelligence chief says chemical substances had been discovered on the home of a 19-year-old Austrian suspected of planning an assault on upcoming Taylor Swift live shows in Vienna.

Franz Ruf, the general public safety director at Austria’s Inside Ministry, mentioned Thursday in an interview with public broadcaster ORF’s Oe1 program that following the arrest of two suspects earlier this week, investigators discovered chemical substances and and technical gadgets on the 19-year-old suspect’s home.

Ruf mentioned these are actually being evaluated. Only a few weeks in the past, the suspect had uploaded an oath of allegiance to the present chief of the Islamic State group militia to an web account, he added.

The cancellations devastated Swifties throughout the globe, a lot of whom had dropped hundreds of euros on journey and lodging in Austria’s costly capital metropolis for the sold-out Eras Tour reveals on Thursday, Friday and Saturday on the Ernst Happel Stadium, which sat empty Thursday morning except for media filming outdoors.

Occasion organizer Barracuda Music mentioned in a submit on its Instagram channel late Wednesday that “we now have no alternative however to cancel the three scheduled reveals for everybody’s security.” It cited authorities officers’ “affirmation” of a deliberate assault on the stadium.

Earlier Wednesday, authorities mentioned that they had arrested two suspected extremists, one in all whom seemed to be planning an assault on an occasion within the Vienna space such because the upcoming live shows.

The 19-year-old primary suspect was arrested in Ternitz, south of Vienna, and the second particular person within the Austrian capital.

Franz Ruf, the general public safety director at Austria’s inside ministry, mentioned authorities had been conscious of “preparatory actions” for a doable assault “and in addition that there’s a focus by the 19-year-old perpetrator on the Taylor Swift live shows in Vienna,” the Austria Press Company reported.

Ruf mentioned the 19-year-old had pledged an oath of allegiance to the Islamic State group.

The Austrian citizen is believed to have grow to be radicalized on the web. Ruf mentioned that chemical substances had been secured and had been being evaluated. He did not give extra particulars.

The cancelation got here hours after authorities mentioned safety measures for the Swift live shows could be stepped up. Ruf mentioned that there could be a particular focus amongst different issues on entry checks and concertgoers ought to plan a bit extra time.

Vienna police chief Gerhard Pürstl mentioned on the similar time that, whereas any concrete hazard had been minimized, an summary threat justified elevating safety.

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer mentioned in a submit on social community X that “the cancelation of the Taylor Swift live shows by the organizers is a bitter disappointment for all followers in Austria.”

“The scenario surrounding the apparently deliberate terror assault in Vienna was very severe,” he wrote. However he added that, due to intensive cooperation between police, Austrian and overseas intelligence, “the menace might be acknowledged early on, tackled and a tragedy prevented.”

Barracuda Music mentioned that “all tickets might be routinely refunded inside the subsequent 10 enterprise days.” The identical wording was posted beneath the Vienna dates on Swift’s official web site.

The Vienna stadium had been bought out for the deliberate live shows, APA reported, with an estimated 170,000 followers anticipated for the live shows in Austria.

Swift followers took to social media to precise their devastation at lacking out on one of many famous person’s reveals. Some who posted on X lamented months of now-wasted efforts to make friendship bracelets and select trendy outfits for the efficiency.

Annmarie Timmins, a journalist who traveled from the U.S. for Thursday’s present, mentioned she and her husband had been ready for the subway after dinner once they heard the information.

“I can’t even imagine it,” she mentioned. “There was a lady along with her mother who regarded so unhappy — much more than me. I gave her one in all my bracelets. I needed to hug her.”

In 2017, an assault at an Ariana Grande live performance in Manchester, England, killed 22 folks. Suicide bomber Salman Abedi arrange a knapsack bomb in Manchester Enviornment on the finish of Grande’s live performance as hundreds of younger followers had been leaving. Greater than 100 folks had been injured. Abedi died within the explosion.

An official inquiry reported final yr that Britain’s home intelligence company, MI5, did not act swiftly sufficient on key info and missed a big alternative to forestall the bombing, the deadliest extremist assault within the U.Okay. in recent times.