The suspected Islamic State supporters who allegedly conspired to commit an act of terrorism during a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna earlier this month intended to kill “tens of thousands,” according to a senior Central Intelligence Agency official.
CIA Deputy Director David Cohen made his remarks while speaking at the annual Intelligence and National Security Summit held this week in Maryland.
“They were plotting to kill a huge number, tens of thousands of people at this concert, including, I am sure, many Americans,” the spy chief told conference attendees on Wednesday.
Cohen revealed that Austrian authorities were warned of the scheme by information provided by his organization, findings that led to the arrest of three teenage suspects who reportedly acted in support of ISIS.
Investigators in Austria believe the primary perpetrator, a 19-year-old citizen from a Macedonian family, planned to attack the Ernst Happel Stadium and its exterior with homemade explosives and chemical substances that police found in a search of his residence.
Event planners sold 65,000 tickets for the August 8 stop on Swift’s successful Eras Tour, with an additional 30,000 people expected to gather outside to listen to the performance.
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