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NEWS

Chemical substances found at home of Austrian suspected of planning attack on Taylor Swift concerts

Updated

investigators found chemical substances and and technical devices at the 19-year-old suspect's house.

Outside view of the Ernst Happel stadium in Vienna
Outside view of the Ernst Happel stadium in ViennaAP

Austria's intelligence chief says chemical substances were found at the house of a 19-year-old Austrian suspected of planning an attack on upcoming Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna.

Franz Ruf, the public security director at Austria's Interior Ministry, said Thursday in an interview with public broadcaster ORF's Oe1 program that following the arrest of two suspects earlier this week, investigators found chemical substances and and technical devices at the 19-year-old suspect's house.

Ruf said these are now being evaluated. Just a few weeks ago, the suspect had uploaded an oath of allegiance to the current leader of the Islamic State group militia to an internet account, he added.

The cancellations devastated Swifties across the globe, many of whom had dropped thousands of euros on travel and lodging in Austria's expensive capital city for the sold-out Eras Tour shows on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the Ernst Happel Stadium, which sat empty Thursday morning aside from media filming outside.