A fight at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom led to a chaotic scene on Thursday night, prompting false rumors of an active shooter.
According to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, multiple deputies responded to the main entrance of Magic Kingdom at around 10:05 p.m. on Thursday, August 29, in reference to reports of an “active shooter.”
Several off-duty deputies were also at the theme park and made contact with individuals who were allegedly involved in a physical altercation near the monorail. The sheriff’s office determined that no firearms were involved in the fight.
The on-duty OCSO deputies patrolled the area near Main Street, which was “centered in the area where the alleged shooting had taken place.” One of the deputies noted in the report that there were “no obvious signs of distress or sounds of gunfire,” and there were initially no injuries reported.
The deputies also searched nearby stores, and they observed no additional witnesses or any signs of “firearm discharge,” such as blood splatter, bullet fragments, or shell casings, according to the report.
During an investigation, the deputies learned that multiple people in the park had heard “shooting” sounds. The deputies ultimately determined that the “shots” were actually balloons that had popped.
At 10:45 p.m. on Thursday, OCSO posted on social media that there was “no active shooter” at the park.
According to OCSO, one of the people involved in the original fight that started the commotion requested to be taken to the hospital for treatment of an unspecified injury.
“There were no arrests made following the fight last night,” stated OCSO in a media release on Friday morning. “Both parties declined to press charges.”
No further details were released by law enforcement regarding the incident at Magic Kingdom.