A third teenager has been arrested in connection with a foiled plot to attack three already-cancelled Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna, Austria’s Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said Friday.
Karner said an 18-year-old man was arrested Thursday night in Vienna after allegedly being in contact with the main suspect. Karner announced the arrest during a news conference Friday.
Investigators are looking into the suspects' "networks," the Interior Ministry told The Associated Press on Friday, adding in a statement that physical and electronic evidence is being evaluated.
The main suspect, 19, and a 17-year-old were arrested Tuesday, while a 15-year-old was also questioned but not arrested. Authorities said Thursday afternoon that no other suspects were being sought. There were no further details Friday.
According to authorities, the plot appeared to be inspired by the Islamic State extremist group and al-Qaeda. Investigators found bomb-making materials at the home of one of the suspects. One of the suspects confessed that he planned to “kill as many people as possible outside the concert grounds,” they said.
Officials say both the main suspect and the 18-year-old arrested on Friday swore “allegiance” to the Islamic State group.
“He had been in contact with the main perpetrator, but is not directly connected to the plans for the attack,” Karner said. “But, as it became known a few days ago, he swore allegiance specifically to IS on August 6.”
The 18-year-old “comes from the social environment” of the main suspect, Karner added.
Three sold-out concerts were cancelled on Wednesday because of the plot, causing consternation among swifties around the world. Many had spent thousands of euros (dollars) on travel and accommodation in the expensive Austrian capital to attend the Eras tour concerts at the Ernst Happel stadium, which was empty on Thursday morning.
Europe is in love with the American superstar. The German city of Gelsenkirchen has renamed itself “Swiftkirchen” ahead of her mid-July concerts.
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 suspects planned to attack. The foiled attack was planned for Thursday or Friday, according to Austria’s interior minister.
Chancellor Karl Nehammer defended the decision to cancel the concerts, saying the arrests of the suspects had been made too close to the shows, scheduled for Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Dazio and Grieshaber reported from Berlin. Associated Press writers Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark; Vanessa Gera in Warsaw, Poland; Danica Kirka in London; and David Klepper and Ellen Knickmeyer in Washington contributed to this report.