Austrian police are investigating further suspects as part of a “very serious” foiled terror plot that saw two arrests on Wednesday and the cancellation of three Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna.
Police on Thursday morning said they had secured chemicals and “technical apparatus” at the home of a 19-year-old Austrian man, an hour south of Vienna.
He was arrested on Wednesday morning and, hours later, police arrested a 17-year-old in Vienna.
Hours after police went public with news of the plot, organisers of the three sold-out concerts – set to begin on Thursday evening – informed ticket-holders they had “no choice but to cancel the three scheduled shows for everyone’s safety”.
Austrian chancellor Karl Nehammer conceded the cancelled sold-out shows were a “a bitter disappointment” for more than 100,000 fans – but that the situation had been “very serious”.
“Thanks to the intensive co-operation of our police and a newly established DSN [Directorate of State Security and Intelligence] with foreign services, the threat was spotted early, combated and a tragedy prevented,” he said.
Speaking on Thursday morning, Austrian officials declined to rule out future arrests or confirm media reports that further plotters were on the run.
“The concrete threat situation has been addressed – we have arrested a 19-year-old and 17-year-old at the heart of this group – but we are also investigating beyond that in their social circle,” said Franz Ruf, general director of Austria’s interior ministry.
“We arrested two people but also carried out building searches, seizures and analyses and secured chemicals and technical apparatus which are now also being analysed.”
Investigators assume the 19-year-old, an Austrian man with parents from North Macedonia’s Albanian minority, was the ringleader of the group.
Arrested on Wednesday morning in Ternitz, 70km south of Vienna, he had been under surveillance for some time and had been radicalised in recent months. In early July, he had reportedly sworn an oath of allegiance to the Islamic State terrorist organisation.
“When we noticed concrete preparations from the 19-year-old we acted in a consequential and targeted way and arrested him in the morning,” said Mr Ruf, saying the man had stolen chemicals from his steelworks employer.
The official declined to comment on reports that the 17-year-old was arrested in Vienna near the concert venue.