"Shock for everyone"

Attack plans: this is how international media react

Security personnel outside the Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna on Thursday

(Bild: AFP/Alex Halada, Krone KREATIV)

The plans to attack the Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna are currently being reported not only by Austrian media, but also by many international media. Bild Zeitung, for example, writes of a "shock for all fans". An "insane act" had been planned.

The Swiss news portal Watson provided a link to the Austrian police press conference on Thursday. "The authorities are keeping a low profile regarding the investigation for the time being. A lot still seems to be unclear," it was reported online on Thursday morning. The Munich tabloid "TZ" ran the headline that fans of the singer "could not believe the terror cancelation."

Reports from the USA
Even the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and many other media often ran several articles on the attack plans. The Los Angeles Times had the canceled concerts in the title and also mentioned in a report the attack on three children at a Swift dance class in Southport at the end of July and the attack on an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester in 2017. 22 people were killed and 100 others were injured.

Taylor Swift at a performance in Milan in July

(Bild: AP ( via APA) Austria Presse Agentur/Claudio Furlan/LaPresse)

Le Parisien: "Suicide bombing foiled"
The largest Parisian daily newspaper Le Parisien ran another headline - translated into German - "Suicide attack plan foiled, concerts canceled." "Taylor Swift cancels three concerts in Vienna - danger of IS attacks", was the headline in the Italian newspaper La Repubblica on Wednesday evening. The British tabloid Daily Mail wrote of an "averted tragedy". According to them, the 19-year-old main suspect had intended to drive a car into the crowd outside the stadium. He was responsible for the fact that his 17-year-old friend was working as a security guard in the first place.

This is the current state of the investigation
According to the current state of the investigation, the Austrian wanted to blow himself and a large crowd of people up in front of the Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna. According to the police, the 19-year-old has already confessed. During a house search, explosives, stabbing weapons and cutting weapons were seized. Three people were arrested in connection with the plans.