Swift attack plans

German police arrest 15-year-old student

(Bild: U. J. Alexander/stock.adobe.com (Symbolbild))

In connection with foiled plans to attack a concert by US superstar Taylor Swift in Vienna, German police have arrested a 15-year-old schoolboy in Frankfurt an der Oder in the federal state of Brandenburg. He is said to have advised the suspected terrorist Beran A. (19).

As it only became known on Friday, investigators from the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) had already searched an apartment in a prefabricated building in Frankfurt an der Oder on Wednesday, where the 15-year-old Syrian lives with his parents and three siblings.

The German forces confiscated data carriers, computers and a cell phone, German media reported. The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office in Karlsruhe confirmed a house search. According to the German Federal Public Prosecutor General's Office, it is on suspicion of "promoting a terrorist organization".

Tip from Austrian investigators
The tip had come from Austrian investigators who had combed through the private and digital network of the main suspect A. after his arrest, reports the "Bild" newspaper. They came across the young man from Frankfurt an der Oder.

Syrian had already been under surveillance for some time
The 15-year-old is said to have exchanged information with the 19-year-old suspect Beran A. via an encrypted messenger service about possible targets, the choice of weapons and the production of explosives, among other things, according to Bild. According to the newspaper, the Syrian had been under surveillance for some time.