Orange sheriff: No active shooter after fight, ‘popping’ sounds at Magic Kingdom spark chaos
A fight and “popping” sounds incited a panic Thursday night at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, leading to since-dispelled rumors of an active shooter at the theme park.
Calls about an apparent shooter began before 10 p.m. as the park was beginning to close.
According to the incident report released Friday by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, calls were coming from different locations close to the park entrance, particularly City Hall, the bus stop, the Town Square and the monorail. However, none of the callers said they actually saw a weapon and no gunshot wounds were reported.
Deputies canvassing the Main Street plaza and checking nearby stores found no shell casings or evidence of a bullet striking any park buildings and no witnesses reported seeing anyone having been shot. The popping noises are believed to have come from balloons, which the report said was noticed by deputies interacting with visitors leaving the park.
The pops are believed to have happened just as a fight broke out near the monorail, which deputies reported had “no indications of firearms involved.” The only reported injury handled by the Sheriff’s Office was of “one of the people involved in the original fight,” an agency spokesperson said Friday. No other injuries were reported.
That didn’t stop rumors of an active shooter from swirling on social media, with visitors posting videos and firsthand accounts of what was happening. The Sheriff’s Office later Thursday night posted on its own social media channels to dispel rumors.
“Guests began running and that’s how the active shooter rumor started. There is no active shooter,” the statement said. A Disney spokesperson thanked the Sheriff’s Office for its response and the park has returned to normal operations.
No arrests were made as a result of the fight as “both parties declined to press charges,” the spokesperson added.