American pop star Taylor Swift’s concert in Austria was canceled on the 7th (local time) after a terrorist plot targeting the concert venue was revealed. One of those involved in the plot was known to be a follower of the Islamic State (IS), an Islamic extremist armed group.
According to Reuters and other news agencies, the concert organizers announced, “The day before the concert, the Austrian government confirmed plans to attack the concert hall, so we will cancel all Swift concerts scheduled to be held in Vienna from the 8th to the 10th.” The Vienna concerts were expected to have around 65,000 attendees. The organizers explained that all tickets for the canceled concerts will be refunded.
Austrian Public Safety Commissioner Franz Ruff said at a news conference that police had arrested two people suspected of plotting the concert attack. One of the suspects, a 19-year-old Austrian man, was arrested on the morning of the 7th in the city of Ternitz, south of Vienna. He is believed to have pledged allegiance to the IS leader in July. Another person who had contact with the suspect was also arrested in Vienna.
Austrian police believe the suspects had been making “concrete preparations” for the concert attack. According to the Associated Press, police searched the suspects’ home and found chemicals believed to be used in bomb-making.
Both men are said to have been influenced by IS ideology online. They are said to have been radicalized.
CNN reported that “the number of teenagers who are becoming involved with IS online has been increasing recently.” According to research by Professor Peter Neumann of King’s College in the UK, 38 of the 58 suspects arrested on suspicion of IS-related charges since October of last year were teenagers aged between 13 and 19.
Professor Neumann explained, “IS and others use social media like TikTok to lure teenagers.” He explained, “IS often targets teenagers in particular,” because “there are few people who would think of a 13-year-old as a terrorist.”
In fact, in France, a 16-year-old boy was arrested in April on charges of making explosives, saying he would “become a martyr for ISIS.” The boy was said to have targeted the ongoing Paris Olympics. In March, a 15-year-old boy from Switzerland and an Italian boy were arrested on charges of supporting ISIS and plotting a bomb attack.
Swift’s side has not made any statements as of yet. However, in a 2019 Elle magazine interview, Swift said, “Since the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017 (with Ariana Grande), I’ve been so scared of touring,” and “I don’t know how to keep my fans safe.”
Swift’s Austrian concerts are part of her ‘Eras Tour’, which began in the United States in March last year and ends in Canada in December this year. Following Vienna, Swift is scheduled to perform six concerts at Wembley Stadium in London, England, starting on the 15th.
Reporter Kim Bo-ra [email protected]
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2024-08-09 09:53:03