The set of concerts were scheduled to take place at Austria’s Ernst Happel Stadium on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Authorities in Vienna, Austria have announced that the suspects in the foiled terror plot for the now-cancelled Taylor Swift shows appear to have been inspired by the Islamic State militant group (ISIS).
On Thursday, Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner announced that two suspects were arrested in connection to a planned terrorist attack at the Swift concerts in Vienna later this week.
„The situation was serious, the situation is serious. But we can also say: A tragedy was prevented“, Karner said.
The two suspects that were arrested included a 17-year-old and a 19-year-old. Authorities did not release the identities of the two suspects but noted that the 17-year-old was an Austrian citizen with ties to Turkey and Croatia. The 17-year-old was arrested near the Ernst Happel stadium in Vienna, where the concert was planned to take place.
Security for the shows was heightened after a 19-year-old was arrested in Ternitz, about an hour south of Vienna. However, the three shows, scheduled for Thursday, Friday and Saturday were later canceled by the organizer.
The two men were suspected of wanting to carry out a terror attack outside of the stadium, in hopes of killing as many people as possible, Austrian security officials said.
