People are still getting caught bringing guns to Walt Disney World.
At least five people were arrested for carrying a concealed firearm toward the end of 2021, according to Orange County Sheriff’s Office records released this week. It’s becoming one of the most common arrests at Walt Disney World.
Disney posts the rules listing guns, knives, and other items banned on property. But that didn’t stop one man, who approached Disney security on November 28, 2021, and asked if he could enter Disney Springs with his weapon, since he brought his concealed weapon license. That permit, however, was suspended and expired, the sheriff’s report said.
The 37-year-old Broward County man was surprised his permit wasn’t valid and said he hadn’t thought to check it. It expired back in July of 2019.
The sheriff’s office couldn’t determine why his permit was suspended, although the man offered his own hypothesis.
“(The defendant) later advised that it is possible that his permit may be possibly expired due to a sexual relationship that he had with a security guard from a subdivision that he was a member of the Home Owner Association,” the sheriff’s report said. “He was never charged with any crime but advised that he believes the security guard who is a woman possibly alleged that he committed a crime to her.”
The man, who kept the pistol in a satchel, was arrested.
The people arrested often said they forgot they were carrying their weapons when they attempted to enter the theme parks or Disney Springs with their families, according to the arrest reports.
One man who was arrested said he went to the shooting range on Christmas Eve and then left his gun in his bag. The 27-year-old Orlando resident didn’t remember the 9mm handgun was still there when he went through Disney’s high-tech security detector on December 26, 2021. It alerted Disney Springs Security and the sheriff’s deputy arrested him.
The gun was not loaded. But that’s not always the case.
A 48-year-old South Carolina man was caught with a 9mm handgun with a bullet in the chamber and two magazines containing 12 more bullets when he went through the security check November 25, 2021 at the Transportation and Ticket Center outside the Magic Kingdom.
The man said he was in the process of applying for a concealed weapon permit, but didn’t have one yet.
A 22-year-old Georgia woman said she didn’t realize her loaded 9mm Glock pistol was in her purse when she went to the Transportation and Ticket Center on November 3, 2021 with her two children and her children’s father.
“Once inside the security office, I removed 6 live 9mm bullets from the magazine that was loaded into the pistol and there was still the 1 live round that was in the chamber,” the sheriff’s deputy wrote in the report.
The woman went to the Orange County Jail while her two children went with their father.
One woman was arrested for carrying a concealed firearm without a permit at Disney Springs on November 22, 2021. The 30-year-old Davenport woman said she just purchased her 9mm handgun and normally keeps it in a bag under her driver’s seat so her kids wouldn’t see see it.
“She shoots at the range all the time and knows not to carry because she has no license, but forgot to transfer the firearm to her vehicle this time,” the sheriff’s report said.
A 49-year-old North Carolina man carried a pistol in the front outside pocket of his black backpack when he arrived at Disney’s Transportation and Ticket Center on October 17, 2021.
The 9mm was loaded with 16 rounds — including a round in the chamber, the sheriff’s report said.
The man told authorities the gun laws are different in North Carolina and he is allowed to carry his pistol in his backpack back home, the report said.
The man, who had no prior criminal history, didn’t appear to get arrested, although the sheriff’s report noted the case was forwarded to the state attorney’s office.
“Because of the totality of circumstances, Disney did not want (the man) trespassed from any of their parks,” the partially redacted sheriff’s incident report said.
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