New Details Emerge About Foiled Terror Attack at Taylor Swift Concert in Vienna
New Details Emerge About Foiled Terror Attack at Taylor Swift Concert in Vienna originally appeared on Parade.
Nearly a year after Taylor Swift's Eras Tour shows in Vienna, Austria were canceled due to planned terror attacks, more details are emerging about the suspects and their motives.
Swift was scheduled to perform three shows at Vienna's Ernst Happel Stadium from August 8 to August 10 last year before government officials learned of a planned terrorist attack. The shows were subsequently canceled and two suspects were taken into custody in connection to the crime.
One of the men taken into custody was a 19-year-old with alleged ties to ISIS. The second suspect - a 17-year-old, was also inspired by the terrorist group as well as al-Qaeda, according to Austrian authorities.
Officials revealed on August 8 that the main suspect began working on his attack plans in July. He allegedly posted online an oath of allegiance to the current leader of the Islamic State group militia, and, based on a raid on the suspect's home, he planned to use knives or homemade explosives for his attack. The Associated Press reported that officials said that one of the two suspects confessed to planning to "kill as many people as possible outside the concert venue."
A third suspect in connection with the planned attack was arrested on August 9. The 18-year-old "comes from the social environment" as the main suspect, according to the AP.
Due to Austria's privacy laws, none of the suspects have been identified. However, on Friday June 27, a minor identified as Mohammad A. was charged with allegedly supporting a foreign terrorist organization's plan to attack the concert.
"Mohammad A has adhered to the ideology of the terrorist organization Islamic State (IS) since April 2024 at the latest," a statement from the prosecutor general read. "Between mid-July and August 2024, he was in contact with a young Austrian who was planning a bomb attack on a concert by singer Taylor Swift in Vienna."
Swift spoke about the planned attack in late August last year.
"Having our Vienna shows cancelled was devastating. The reason for the cancellations filled me with a new sense of fear, and a tremendous amount of guilt because so many people had planned on coming to those shows," Swift wrote in an Instagram statement. "But I was also so grateful to the authorities because thanks to them, we were grieving concerts and not lives. I was heartened by the love and unity I saw in the fans who banded together."
New Details Emerge About Foiled Terror Attack at Taylor Swift Concert in Vienna first appeared on Parade on Jun 27, 2025
This story was originally reported by Parade on Jun 27, 2025, where it first appeared.
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