A man arrested in Costa Rica on Sunday for allegedly threatening to attack an Ariana Grande concert has been released on bail, the Associated Press reports. The Colombian man, age 22, allegedly wrote a threat in Arabic ahead of Grande's concert in the city of Alajuela.
On Sunday, the country's Judicial Investigative Police (OIJ) released a statement explaining that the man had written about attacking the event on Facebook on Saturday. Police were able to use his IP address to locate him and the cell phones he used to write the threat. He was taken into custody Sunday morning.
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The event's organiser, One Costa Rica, and venue Parque Vive announced that the show would go on as planned, according to the Costa Rica Star. Security was already stepped up for the event, no doubt in light of the attack that followed Grande's concert in Manchester, England, on May 22 that killed 22 people. They said private security, police, and Grande's own security personnel would be checking each person entering the venue. Before this arrest was made, Costa Rica Hoy reported that the OIJ was using the concert as the first test of a new security protocol for massive, high-risk events. Though we can't be certain whether the man arrested was actually planning an attack, his quick arrest showed just how closely the police were watching.
On Tuesday, the Associated Press said the man had been released on bail Sunday night, but was not allowed to leave the country.
Grande did not mention the arrest on social media, but posted photos of herself during the concert. "I love you, Costa Rica!" she wrote.
Following the Manchester bombing and her One Love Manchester concert a week later, Grande resumed her Dangerous Woman tour on June 7. She next plays two nights in Mexico City on Wednesday and Thursday.
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