The 19-year-old who plotted against Taylor Swift's concerts in Vienna was only “toying with the idea of an attack” without actually intending to carry it out. The lawyer for the boy who is currently under arrest, Ina-Christin Stiglitz, gave the new version of events: “He was interested in the subject, but he didn't really want to do it. He said the bomb wasn't good quality. He had looked on the internet for how to build it, but it didn't work.” According to Austrian investigators, the young man wanted to carry out a suicide attack inspired by the most famous attacks by the Islamic State. Because of this threat, the shows that were to take place from August 8 to 10 at the Ernst-Happel Stadium in the Austrian capital were canceled. At the 19-year-old's home, police later found and confiscated machetes, chemicals and other devices that could have been used in an attack. According to investigators, the young man had recently sworn allegiance to the Islamic State and after his home was searched, he confessed everything. The lawyer is now trying to downplay the extent of the serious accusation, emphasizing to the court microphones Reuters how the 19-year-old had actually been dealing with ISIS for “only a month” and was “interested” in it, but on a largely theoretical level, not enough to launch an armed attack.
He had grown a long beard
According to reports ReutersAustrian police, as part of the investigation, have now arrested three other people, including a 17-year-old whom the suspect called his “best friend and neighbor” in the town of Ternitz. The 19-year-old was described by him as “reserved but friendly.” Furthermore, according to the 17-year-old, the only sign that could have given the idea of radicalization was the long beard that the young man was growing. Asked about the reasons for this change of style, the lawyer explained that the boy would have done it only to “appear more handsome.” The lawyer's statements contrast with those published in recent days by the suspect, who claimed to have planned to “commit suicide and that of a large number of people, today and tomorrow, during the concert.”
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