There was “no danger for the participants of the parade at any time,” said Omar Haijawi-Pirchner of the State Protection and Intelligence Directorate. The suspects were 14, 17 and 20 years of age and were arrested an hour before the start of the parade by the Austrian Cobra Special Forces with knives in their car, according to the Head of Austria’s domestic intelligence service.
“Thanks to the consistent investigations by the State Security & Intelligence Service Directorate, a possible Islamist attack in Vienna could be prevented,” Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said in a statement on Twitter. “This shows once again that in the fight against radicals and extremists we must never give in. They are threats to our democracy and security, which must be dealt with with all severity.”
"Extremism - whether from the left, right or with an Islamist background - has no place in our society and wants to destroy our peaceful coexistence,” he continued. “On the other hand, we as a society must defend ourselves in a resilient and robust manner and nip any form of extremism in the bud.”
Mayor of Vienna Michael Ludwig said on Twitter, “The news of a possible attack on yesterday's rainbow parade shocks me.” He continued, “In Vienna there must be no place for hatred and exclusion! Our city is colorful and cosmopolitan. Thanks to the security forces who made a peaceful parade possible.”
According to the APA, after being notified of the arrests, the parade organizers said, “We will not let the enemies of rights for LGBTQI people, democracy and an open society get us down.”
ABC reported that the intelligence agency kept the suspects "under constant control" leading up to their arrests on Saturday after searches of their homes found weapons and other evidence. The three had sympathized with the Islamic State after being radicalized on the internet. All were Austrian citizens of Bosnian and Chechen origins.
Haijawi-Pirchner said that the three had no accomplices in the plan.
