Chaos ensued after park visitors were evacuated from Disney World’s Magic Kingdom following a false active shooter call.
The most magical place on Earth started getting scary Thursday night after park visitors ran outside when they heard a “popping sound” and assumed it was an active shooter. Orange County Sheriff’s Office saying.
Rumors began to circulate that there was a gunman on the grounds and the park was evacuated for safety reasons.
“There is no active shooter,” Florida police said. “A fight broke out and a ‘popping’ sound was heard which we believe was due to a balloon.”
Guests quickly took to social media to show a looted store in the park, where souvenirs were thrown to the ground and objects were tossed onto the floor in their rush to escape the perceived danger.
The most magical place on Earth started getting scary Thursday night after park visitors ran outside when they heard a “popping sound” and assumed it was an active shooter.
Rumors began to circulate that there was a gunman at the scene and the park was evacuated for safety reasons. However, police believe the sound was simply a balloon popping during a fight in the park.
‘I went to Magic Kingdom today and there was literally a stampede due to an alleged shooter,’ said one unknown The user wrote: ‘I thought that would be my last day. I was pushed and fell. Mothers were crying looking for their daughters, people were hiding, it was very bad.
“It’s probably still one of the scariest things I’ve ever personally experienced, but I hope everyone who was there is okay, especially the children.”
Other unknown The user showed the large police presence and huge crowds leaving the park.
“What a terrible thing. This is how they evacuated Magic Kingdom after the false alarm about a shooter in the park,” they wrote on the platform.
Some guests were led through a “back door” area, park visitor Glenn Brady said. Fox 35 Orlando.
“People came running in and crouched down. The security officers were telling us to crouch down,” he recalled.
“I went to Magic Kingdom today and there was literally a stampede due to an alleged shooter,” wrote one X user. “I thought that was going to be my last day.” (Pictured: park visitors being escorted out of the park)
A large police presence was observed at the venue and some guests hid in back areas until it was determined to be safe.
‘Some had to leave their prams and strollers. We were there for about 15 minutes and then we were taken to another spot behind the shop where we stayed for about 30 minutes or so until we were finally taken out of the park.’
He said people around him were praying and that he and his family were “telling each other not to panic.”
“But you can see there were individuals who were quite upset,” he said.
Disney World said WFTV 9 In a statement, he said he appreciated the “immediate response” of the police force.
“Normal operations have resumed and the park is now closed for the night,” it said in a statement.
The park was open to visitors on Friday.