Pictured: Zombie Knife-Wielding ISIS Teen Accused of Planning to Butcher Taylor Swift Fans in Suicide Bomb Attack — ‘He Seemed Like Boy Next Door’
The photo of Beran A. shows the 19-year-old wielding two large zombie knives while dressed in a black shirt featuring an ISIS flag.
Aug. 8 2024, Published 12:30 p.m. ET
The ISIS-inspired teenager accused of plotting a terrorist suicide attack at Taylor Swift’s latest Eras Tour concert has been pictured for the first time – as neighbors claim he was once a “harmless boy next door”.
RadarOnline.com can reveal the suspect, identified as 19-year-old Austrian native Beran A., grew up in Ternitz – a small town located just 50 miles south of Vienna.
Neighbors described Beran as a “harmless boy next door” before he became what looked like a “sleeper agent for a terrorist cell”.
Ternitz residents described Beran as a “harmless boy next door” who “significantly changed his appearance” after becoming radicalized by ISIS online.
A neighbor who last saw Beran on Tuesday said: “He looked like how you would imagine a sleeper agent for a terrorist cell.”
Other neighbors described the young suspect’s family as “inconspicuous and quiet” who “didn’t cause any problems”.
Beran’s parents and sister were said to be on vacation in North Macedonia when he and two accomplices hatched their alleged plot to attack Swift’s Vienna concerts.
Swift, 34, had to cancel three shows in Vienna in the wake of the thwarted attack.
The photo of Beran, which surfaced Thursday morning and has been obtained by RadarOnline.com, shows the 19-year-old wielding two large zombie knives while dressed in a black shirt featuring an ISIS flag.
Although his face is blurred out in the picture, Beran is seen with a thick beard.
As RadarOnline.com reported, the zombie knife-wielding teen was arrested on Wednesday morning and accused of plotting an ISIS-inspired terrorist suicide attack at Taylor Swift’s Thursday night concert in Vienna.
The superstar Love Story singer, 34, had to cancel three shows at Vienna’s Ernst Happel Stadium on Thursday, Friday and Saturday in the wake of the thwarted terrorist attack.
Fans line up outside the Folklore singer's concert ahead of another show earlier this month in Germany.
Beran and his two suspected accomplices apparently planned to “bomb the gig and mow down fans” before the plot was foiled by U.S. intelligence and Europol.
Vienna police revealed Beran had planned to drive a car through the 20,000 fans expected to gather outside the Folklore singer’s first concert – before using knives and machetes to attack the survivors.
The 19-year-old suspect later confessed his plan, telling the authorities he “intended to carry out an attack using explosives and knives”.
Omar Haijawi-Pirchner, of Austria’s Domestic Intelligence Agency, said: “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.
The singer has not publicly responded to the threats or her team's decision to cancel the shows.
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“His aim was to kill himself and a large number of people during the concert either today or tomorrow.”
Public Security Director Franz Ruf also confirmed the Vienna authorities were told of “preparatory actions” for a planned terrorist attack at Swift’s concert. Ruf also revealed Beran and a younger 17-year-old suspect were “radicalized by the internet”.
He said during a press conference after the thwarted attack: “The two suspects became radicalized by the internet, a 19-year-old citizen of Lower Austria made an oath of allegiance to the current leader of ISIS at the beginning of July.”
Police indicated explosives were being stored at Beran’s home in Ternitz. Chemical substances for explosives – including acetone and hydrogen peroxide – were also found at Beran’s residence and are still being investigated.
RadarOnline.com has reached out to Swift and her team for comment.
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