“They were plotting to kill a huge number, tens of thousands of people at this concert, I am sure many Americans,” CIA Deputy Director David S. Cohen said
“Tens of thousands” of fans were the target of a thwarted terrorist attempt at Taylor Swift’s recent Vienna shows, a CIA official told reporters on Wednesday, Aug. 28.
CIA Deputy Director David S. Cohen shared new details of the thwarted terror plot that canceled all three of the 34-year-old pop star’s planned Eras Tour concerts in Austria earlier this month during the annual Intelligence Summit just outside Washington, D.C., reports The New York Times and NBC News.
“They were plotting to kill a huge number, tens of thousands of people at this concert, I am sure many Americans,” Cohen said.
“The Austrians were able to make those arrests because the agency and our partners in the intelligence community provided them information about what this ISIS-connected group was planning to do,” he continued.
Concert promoter Barracuda Music announced the cancellation on Aug. 7, writing that they had “no choice but to cancel” the Aug. 8, 9 and 10 performances in order to prioritize the safety of all attendees.
During Wednesday’s summit, Cohen did not disclose how the CIA learned of the alleged plot, though the agency has been on alert for other countries regarding terrorist plots, the Times reported.
hree people have been arrested, including a 19-year-old Austrian who is considered the main suspect. The other arrested suspects are a 17-year-old Austrian and an 18-year-old Iraqi. The suspects’ names have not been released. Authorities have said the plot was inspired by the Islamic State group, per the Associated Press.
In a news conference on Aug. 8, Omar Haijawi-Pirchner, head of Austria’s Directorate of State Security and Intelligence, said the 19-year-old Austrian suspect admitted to intending “to carry out an attack” at Swift’s concert “using explosives and knives,” according to NBC News, CNN and Le Monde.
“His aim was to kill himself and a large number of people during the concert either today or tomorrow,” he added, according to Le Monde.
Around 200,000 people were expected to attend the three shows combined, the Times reports.
