In connection with a thwarted terror scheme termed as “gravely serious”, Austrian law enforcement continues to probe additional suspects. This incident led to a pair of arrests on Wednesday and caused three concerts of popular singer Taylor Swift in Vienna to be called off.
Authorities mentioned on Thursday morning that they had retrieved chemical substances and “technical equipment” from a 19-year-old Austrian male’s residence located an hour’s drive south of Vienna.
This young man was apprehended on Wednesday morning, and following a few hours, a 17-year-old was also taken into custody in Vienna.
Upon the public announcement of the scheme by the police, organisers of the fully booked concerts, which were initially set to kick off on Thursday evening, felt compelled to abandon these planned events in order to ensure public safety.
Unfortunately, the impromptu cancellation of these full-capacity concerts was “a bitter pill to swallow” for the fan base exceeding a hundred thousand, recognition for its “grave seriousness” was endorsed by Austrian chancellor Karl Nehammer.
Nehammer expressed his gratitude towards the collective effort of the national police force and a recently formed DSN [Directorate of State Security and Intelligence] working in collaboration with overseas authorities, attributing the timely detection, challenge and prevention of a potential disaster to them.
While delivering a statement on Thursday morning, Austrian authorities did not discount the probability of additional arrests nor confirm speculations from the media about more plotters still at large. In addition to arresting a 19-year-old and 17-year-old who were integral to this group, an inquiry has been initiated into their social connections according to Franz Ruf, chief director of Austria’s interior ministry.
Ruf added that the operations have not only led to a couple of arrests but have also allowed for property searches, confiscations, and inspections, wherein chemicals and technical equipment were secured for analysis.
Investigators suspect the leading figure of the group to be the 19-year-old Austrian, whose parents are from the Albanian minority community in North Macedonia. The young man, who was taken into custody on Wednesday morning in Ternitz, situated 70km south of Vienna, had been under scrutiny for some time and had apparently veered towards radicalism in the past few months. There were reports that he confessed allegiance to the infamous Islamic State terrorist organization earlier in July.
Remaining reticent about reports suggesting that the 17-year-old was arrested in Vienna in proximity to the concert venue, Ruf explained that the man had pilfered chemicals from his steelworks employer. This was followed by swift and precise action, leading to his arrest when substantial preparations by the 19-year-old were noticed, Ruf iterated.