#Florida man brought assault rifle, handgun to Disney World vacation

A Florida man brought along an AR-15 rifle, a 9mm handgun and a cache of ammo for his Disney World family vacation due to safety fears over recent anti-racism protests in the state and across the country, a report said.

The 43-year-old Palm Beach Gardens man checked into Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort in Orlando with his guns stuffed in a tennis bag on Labor Day weekend, the Orlando Sentinel reported Tuesday, citing a newly released incident report from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.

The man had a concealed weapons permit and was not arrested “because no laws were broken,” the sheriff’s office.

Security at Disney safely stored the man’s guns for him until the end his trip.

Police were notified of the incident after the bellman handling the bag discovered the weapons when he looked inside upon realizing how heavy it was.

The sheriff’s office then questioned the man who told them “he brought the rifle with him for their safety because of the riots and civil unrest going on down south and in the Central Florida area,” the incident report said, according to the news outlet.

In Orlando, as well as cities across the country, there have been ongoing Black Lives Matter marches and protests largely sparked by the May 25 police killing of George Floyd in Minnesota. Protesters in the state have also demonstrated regularly, including near Disney World, after a deputy fatally shot a 22-year-old man outside the Florida Mall on Aug. 7, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

The sheriff’s office had checked the man’s concealed weapon permit and found it was legitimate.

“We then gave [the man] back his firearms and told him we appreciated his cooperation,” the incident report said, according to the report.

Along with the guns, the man brought with him three rifle magazines with 90 total rounds and two 9mm magazines with 20 rounds total, the news outlet said.

Disney spokeswoman Andrea Finger told the Orlando Sentinel in a statement: “Our policy is clear that guns or weapons of any kind are not allowed at our resort regardless of whether someone has a permit.”