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Do Other Disneylands Have Security Concerns? There Was A Seriously Scary Incident At The Paris Park

by Zoe Balaconis

French authorities on Thursday arrested a man who was allegedly carrying two guns into a hotel at Disneyland Paris. With France still in a state of emergency after the coordinated attacks that took 130 lives last November, this event was a shock, especially given the setting at the popular family destination. Though any impending violence was prevented, the incident begs the question: Do other Disneylands now have security concerns?

The 28-year-old man arrested this week was also reportedly discovered to be carrying a box of ammunition and a copy of the Quran. According to police, the man set off several metal detectors at the entrance of the theme park's New York Hotel. BBC News reported that the police had also arrested a woman believed at the time to be his girlfriend. The woman was later released when French authorities realized they had the wrong woman. Police are still searching for the suspect's girlfriend and potential accomplice. While in custody, the man claimed to have been carrying the guns for protection.

The park is still open, and neither Disneyland Paris, nor any other Disney parks have released a statement about the event. Jean-Luc Marx, the top police official in Seine-et-Marne, told Le Parisien “I’d like to highlight that the security services of Disney and the police forces immediately reacted, so that this individual was put somewhere where he could do no harm — if that was indeed his intention, we don’t know yet.”

If Thursday's incident was intended to be a terrorist attack, it seems that it was an isolated incident. None of the other Disney parks have posted statements regarding increased concerns, and all of them already have very thorough security systems in place, to combat similar incidents. Regardless, European Union policing agency Europol warned that ISIS was planning further attacks, reminding citizens and authorities that France's "soft" targets (targets with a high concentration of civilians) were potentially at an increased risk.