The Austrian Interior Ministry said on Wednesday that a 19-year-old Austrian national, suspected of planning a terrorist attack during a major event in Vienna, had been detained in the city of Ternitz. The police carried out more arrests later on Wednesday as part of investigation into the case.
"Large concerts usually become the target of Islamist attacks ... We had two arrests yesterday ... the tragedy was prevented. And I would like to say that I understand the decision of the organizers to cancel these concerts," Karner told reporters.
The situation was and remains serious due to the terrorist threat, he added.
The 19-year-old suspect has pleaded guilty, representatives of the Austrian Interior Ministry and the state intelligence department told reporters, adding that the detainee intended to attack people outside the stadium and commit suicide.
"Nineteen-year-old main suspect ... confessed," Franz Ruf, the director-general for public safety in the Austrian Interior Ministry, said.
The suspect planned to murder people outside the stadium using piercing and cutting weapons and was assembling a bomb in Ternitz. He reportedly intended to drive into the crowd of Swift's fans near the stadium.
The second detainee in this case was a 17-year-old teenager who worked for a company that was supposed to provide services at the stadium hosting Swift's shows. The law enforcement forces have seized materials related to the Islamic State* and al-Qaeda* terrorist groups from the teenager, Director of State Security and Intelligence Omar Haijawi-Pirchner said.
Another 15-year-old detainee confirmed the investigators' conclusions during the interrogation.
Taylor Swift is reportedly shocked by the situation and wants to return to Austria as soon as possible.
Swift's concerts were scheduled to take place in Vienna on August 8, 9 and 10 at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion as part of the Eras Tour. Each of the concerts was expected to gather up to 65,000 visitors and from 15,000 to 20,000 Swift's fans beyond the stadium.
* Terrorist groups banned in Russia and many other countries