Two people have been arrested in Austria over an alleged plot to attack a Taylor Swift concert, according to Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung and Austrian officials.
According to the Kronen Zeitung newspaper, one of the detainees was a 19-year-old Austrian “of Macedonian origin” who “lived with his family in Ternitz”. He was arrested “on strong suspicion of terrorism”, according to the newspaper.
On X-day, Vienna's tourist office announced that tickets for Swift's three concerts at the Ernst-Happel Stadium on Thursday, Friday and Saturday were sold out.
Ternitz is located about 70 kilometres south of Vienna.
Franz Ruf, director of public security at Austria's Interior Ministry, said authorities were aware of “preparatory actions” for a possible attack “and also that there is a focus… on Taylor Swift's concerts in Vienna,” by the 19-year-old, the Austrian Press Agency reported.
Ruf said the 19-year-old is an Austrian citizen who had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group and is believed to have been radicalized online. Ruf said chemicals had been seized and were being tested, but gave no further details.
The other arrest took place in Vienna, the paper said.
Vienna city officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Security measures for the concerts will be tightened. Ruf said that special attention will be paid, among other things, to entrance controls and that concert-goers should allow a little more time to enter.
Vienna police chief Gerhard Pürstl said that while any concrete danger had been downplayed, an abstract risk justified increased security.
This is a developing story that will be updated in the future. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
