Third Teenager Arrested in Connection to Planned Attack at Taylor Swift Concerts, Authorities Say

More information has come to light about the planned attacks at Taylor Swift's now-canceled Vienna concerts.

A third suspect has been arrested in connection to the foiled potential terror attack that was scheduled to take place during the singer's soldout shows at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion soccer stadium in the Austrian capital, authorities confirmed.

An 18-year-old Iraqi citizen was taken into custody Aug. 8, Austrian officials announced in a press conference Aug. 9. Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said the suspect, who Karner noted had allegedly pledged allegiance to ISIS, is "not currently linked directly to the planned attack on the concert" but that "his arrest underscores the broad scope of the ongoing investigation."

He added, "Authorities are taking decisive action against anyone who might be involved in terrorist activities or exhibits radical tendencies."

The prime suspect in the plan is a 19-year-old Austrian man with North Macedonian roots, who was taken into custody Aug. 8 along with a 17-year-old Austrian man. During a press conference following their arrest, the Head of Austria's Directorate of State Security and Intelligence Omar Haijawi-Pirchner shared that the 19-year-old confessed that he had planned to kill himself and a "large" number of people during the event.

Authorities raided his home and found hydrogen peroxide, homemade explosives, detonators and detonator cables, along with explosives that were already assembled, Haijawi-Pirchner noted. Officials also revealed that the 17-year-old was employed a few days before the event by a company providing unspecified services at the concert venue.

The three days of concerts, scheduled to take place between Aug. 8 and Aug. 10, were ultimately called off, with Swift next taking the stage in London.

Over the last several years, several concerts have been the site of deadly attacks. In May 2017, a suicide bomber killed 22 people and injured more than 200 at an Ariana Grande concert in the U.K. That October, 61 people were killed and over 500 were wounded at a music festival in Las Vegas headlined by Jason Aldean, becoming the deadliest U.S. mass shooting in modern history.

And an incident of that caliber happening at her shows is something Swift has expressed being fearful of. 

"After the Manchester Arena bombing and the Vegas concert shooting," she told Elle in 2019, "I was completely terrified to go on tour this time because I didn't know how we were going to keep 3 million fans safe over seven months. There was a tremendous amount of planning, expense, and effort put into keeping my fans safe." And although her fear of violence has continued in her personal life, she doesn't want it to control her.

"Every day I try to remind myself of the good in the world, the love I've witnessed, and the faith I have in humanity," Swift continued. "We have to live bravely in order to truly feel alive, and that means not being ruled by our greatest fears."