Teen Planned to Attack Oasis Fans at Reunion Tour’s Opening Night: Prosecutors
A Welsh teenager planned to attack fans at the first show of Oasis’ comeback tour on July 4, but he was caught by British authorities and has since admitted to a criminal charge.
The Times reports that a 17-year-old from South Wales — kept anonymous because he’s a minor — was accused by U.K. prosecutors last month of plotting to attack the opening night of the much-awaited Oasis reunion tour in Cardiff.
The teenager had also allegedly been planning to target a dance school near his home, inspired by the deadly knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport, England, last year.
According to the Times, the Welsh teenager researched how to obtain large knives and had a note saved to his phone called “places to attack.” He also allegedly sent Snapchat messages praising the Southport killer, Axel Rudakubana, and told his school guidance counselor at a June 21 meeting that he wanted to commit a “Rudakubana-style attack.”
The teenager’s guidance counselor and a Snapchat user both reported him to the police, leading to the criminal case.
The 17-year-old pled guilty to a single charge of possessing a document useful for terrorism, admitting that he had a copy of an al-Qaeda training manual on his phone. He appeared in Westminster Magistrates’ Court on June 21, and a judge ordered a psychiatric examination of the teen before sentencing.
The opening night of Oasis’ 41-date Live ’25 tour, the band’s first tour since 2009, ultimately went forward without issue at Cardiff’s 74,000-capacity Principality Stadium on July 4.
The U.K.’s Crown Prosecution Service and reps for Oasis did not return requests for comment on Wednesday (July 16).
Rachel Scharf
Billboard