Three Taylor Swift concerts in Austria were canceled Wednesday after a teen was arrested for allegedly plotting an extremist attack at the events.
Swift was scheduled to play Eras Tour concerts at Vienna's Ernst Happel Stadium on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. But earlier Wednesday, authorities said a 19-year-old from Vienna was arrested after making "preparatory actions" for an attack and that he had "a focus" "on the Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna," per The Associated Press.
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The shows were initially supposed to go on as scheduled but with enhanced security measures, though Vienna police said that "abstract danger" still existed even as the concrete danger had been minimized.
Then the event organizer, Barracuda Music, said in a post later Wednesday that "we have no choice but to cancel the three scheduled shows for everyone's safety."
Swift's website now says all Vienna tickets will be automatically refunded within the next 10 business days.
Franz Ruf, the public security director of Austria's interior ministry, said the 19-year-old suspect pledged his allegiance to the Islamic State group. Both he and another suspect in custody, who had also planned attacks on events in the area, are believed to have become radicalized on the internet, AP reported.
Austrian officials are now evaluating chemical substances a bomb squad found in the 19-year-old's possession following his arrest in Ternitz, a town south of Vienna where the other suspect was arrested.
