The suspects – who allegedly radicalized themselves online – were planning to target Vienna in their attack – with the 19-year-old ‘focused’ on Swift’s Vienna concert, Ruf confirmed.
The 19-year-old man – who was living in his parents house along with another man – was arrested on Wednesday after police raided the home, according to Kronen Zeitung.
A bomb squad reportedly found chemical substances after raiding the home, – and the substances are now being evaluated to see if they could make a bomb.
The names of the suspects have not been released yet.
The teen had pledged an oath of allegiance to the Islamic State group (ISIS) in early July – police said, and confirmed they were aware of ‘preparatory actions’ for a potential attack.
Law enforcement sources told ABC News information about the threat to the shows originated with U.S. intelligence and was passed to the Austrians and Europol.
Ruf added: ‘The suspects were focused on the Taylor Swift concerts. We discovered that he was taking action to prepare for the attack. A clear threat has been averted.’
Police are investigating potential other accomplices.
Swift’s concert promoter Barracuda Music posted a statement which read: ‘Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour Vienna Shows Cancelled Due to Government Officials Confirmation of Planned Terrorist Attack
‘With 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 10 business days.’
Ruf initially said that there would be a special focus on entry checks and concertgoers should plan to arrive in plenty of time.
The shows were expected to be attended by 65,000 concertgoers per day, with an additional 10,000 to 15,000 fans outside of the area, police said.
DailyMail.com has contacted Taylor Swift’s representative for comment.
A suicide bomb attack perpetrated by Salman Abedi, 22, occurred on May 22, 2017 at an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena – and resulted in the deaths of 22 victims while 139 people were injured.
Following the attack Ariana paused her tour but returned to the city just two weeks later to headline the One Love gig in June 2017.
She made the brave decision to return for the benefit concert, which raised more than £17million, and saw the audience that attended her last show in attendance.
Swift’s Eras Tour will end in Vancouver, Canada, on December 8.
The 152-date concert series, in which Swift runs through hits from her 17-year career, is expected to surpass $2 billion by the end of its run, with the staggering per night receipts revealed by Variety last month.
‘One source close to the production said early in the Eras Tour era that her average gross each night is $14 million,’ reported the outlet. ‘Others believe that is a highly conservative estimate, with a possible total that on at least some nights edges closer to $17 million.’
This marks an increase from earlier Forbes reports, which estimated the figure to be between $10 and $13 million.
Notably, this figure excludes revenue from inflated resale tickets, which have often sold for several times their original price. Swift opted not to profit from the scalping of her own tickets, which averaged around $230 and reached a maximum of $499, excluding VIP packages that topped out at $899.
Additionally, the Eras Tour film, released last fall before the tour ended, grossed over $180 million domestically and $261 million worldwide, surpassing records set by Justin Bieber’s concert film in the U.S. and Michael Jackson’s globally, per Variety.
The major hiccup for The Eras Tour happened in November 2022 when Ticketmaster’s system crashed due to overwhelming demand, causing delays for thousands of fans.
Despite setting a record with 2 million tickets sold in a single day, the blame fell on the ticketing platform, not Swift herself.
While she has had an incredibly successful year – between her 152-date Eras Tour and the release of The Tortured Poets Department – Taylor is already working on new music, which insiders now say could be released as early as next year.
According to sources, the Cruel Summer singer has no plans for a lengthy break and is already working on new music for a 2025 release – and is also in talks to hit the road again in 2026, insiders claim.
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Source: New York Post
