A 61-year-old Louisiana man was arrested at Walt Disney World’s Epcot Theme Park after deputies said he tried to sneak a loaded handgun past security at the front gate.
Michael Langston, of New Orleans, was arrested outside the park Monday, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office said.
He was one of the people selected to go through a metal detector before entering and only then told security guards that he was carrying a gun, investigators said.
"I actually think that it's more worrisome that people think that that would be okay (to carry a gun to the park)," said tourist April O'Sullivan.
When deputies arrived at the park, they found Langston had a .380 caliber Smith & Wesson handgun, the sheriff’s office said.
The gun was loaded with six bullets and a seventh in the chamber, deputies said.
Langston told investigators that he realized he had the gun in his backpack as he was riding a Walt Disney World bus to Epcot and didn’t want to go back to his hotel room to put it away so he put the gun between his back and pants, the sheriff’s office said.
"I'm sure he didn't mean to do harm to anybody, but it is the fact that he brought the gun into the park and that it seemed like it was a good idea to do that walking past police officers that are there to check and make sure that everyone is safe," O'Sullivan said.
According to a sheriff’s office report, Langston does not have a permit to carry a concealed weapon.
He was charged with carrying a concealed weapon and was issued a trespass warning from all Disney theme parks.
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