The cancellations of three sold-out concerts this week devastated Swifties across the globe, many of whom had dropped thousands of euros on travel and lodging in Austria’s expensive capital city.
“He wanted to carry out an attack in the area outside the stadium, killing as many people as possible using the knives or even using the explosive devices he had made,” said Omar Haijawi-Pirchner, the head of the Directorate of State Security and Intelligence, citing the 19-year-old’s confession.
He was “clearly radicalized in the direction of the Islamic State and thinks it is right to kill infidels,” Haijawi-Pirchner added.