Chemicals found in house of suspected Taylor Swift concert plotter

The main suspect in a planned attack on a Taylor Swift concert in Austria had chemical substances at his home, authorities said.

The 19-year-old, with North Macedonian roots, worked with another 17-year-old Austrian male and are among three people detained after the plot was announced late on Wednesday, to the shock of "Swiftie" fans globally.

Austria's general director for public security Frankz Ruf told ORF radio on Thursday that chemical substances and technical devices, showing "concrete preparatory actions", were found at the 19-year-old's house in the town of Ternitz.

Swift's three concerts in Vienna, expected to draw 195,000 people, were cancelled.

The Kurier newspaper, citing sources familiar with the situation, reported that the suspect had stolen the chemicals from his former workplace, a metal processing company also in Ternitz, and had made progress in building a bomb.

The newspaper reported that he had planned to drive a car into the crowd expected to gather outside the stadium, and had also considered using machetes and knives.