SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (WXYZ — Eight-year-old Gisele Frederick is a huge Taylor Swift fan, and she and her parents were just two hours away from boarding a plane at Detroit Metro Airport on a trip to Vienna to see Swift in concert. The trip would have been cheaper than buying tickets to see her favorite singer here in the United States.
"I was super dooper excited! It was my dream to go see Taylor," said Gisele.
But then came the news no one was expecting. The three ERAS Tour concerts in the capital of Austria were canceled after authorities foiled an alleged terrorist attack on one of the events.
Gisele was in tears.
"It was devastating. It was like I broke her heart," said Amy Frederick, Gisele's mom.
"It was tough. I had a knot in my stomach and I wanted to get sick," said her dad, Keith Frederick.
Jennifer Stafford of Royal Oak also had a plane ticket and concert ticket in hand, and it would have been her first time traveling solo.
"I never go on trips. I've never traveled by myself before. And I've been wanting to see her forever. I've been a fan for a really, really long time," said Stafford, who, like the Fredericks, thought canceling the trip altogether was the best move as the investigation into the alleged terror plot was still underway.
The Fredericks were hearing that people wearing fan paraphernalia could have been targeted outside of any concert. It was not a risk they were willing to take.
"We didn't feel safe to go," Amy said. "You're glad that you're safe and they figured it out. But being a mom and having to explain that news and what that event could have meant is devastating."
Stafford said while many fans like herself were upset, they are just glad the suspects were caught.
"It could have been horrible," she said. "A lot of people could have been hurt or something much worse."
The Fredericks are now trying to get their money back from Air France.
"We called Air France and they still have not responded to us," said Keith. "We're out thousands of dollars. We just wanted to take our daughter to the concert."
