Marcia Temple, 27, of Lithonia, GA later arrested and charged with carrying a concealed firearm in an incident that took place on Oct. 8th at Walt Disney World’s Transportation and Ticket Center (TTC) where she blamed her 6-year old child for disposing of a gun in some bushes.
What’s Happening:
- Marcia Temple of Lithonia, GA was visiting the Magic Kingdom on October 8th when she was allegedly spotted disposing of a purse into some bushes at the TTC.
- The whole thing was seen by a nearby employee doing the health screenings who saw Temple take something from her stroller and hide it in the planters behind the tents. The employee reported it to security, who got a nearby Orange County Sheriff Deputy.
- The Deputy, Nadia Engwall, discovered that the hidden purse contained a loaded handgun that had 10 bullets including one in the chamber.
- It was reportedly at this point that Engwall was approached by Temple, who said “Excuse me ma’am, that’s mine.”
- The sheriff asked why she had a gun, and according to the report, she answered “I had told my son to hold it for me and stand right here" so she can get her brother to take the purse and gun back to the car.
- Temple was arrested after Engwall discovered that she had no permit to carry a concealed weapon in either Florida or Georgia, and was also trespassed and banned from visiting Walt Disney World property.
- This is only the latest in a string of incidents involving firearms at Walt Disney World that have got public attention since the parks reopened in July, the most high-profile of which was a man who brought an AR-15 to Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort to protect his family as protests regarding social injustice were taking place in Central Florida at the time.
What They’re saying:
- Andrea Finger, Disney Spokeswoman: “Our rules are clear. Weapons are not allowed at our resort.”