Tuesday evening, Anaheim Police Detectives arrested Long Beach resident and Disneyland employee Christian Barnes in connection with an explosion set off inside Disneyland that forced evacuation of a portion of the park but caused no injuries.
Barnes, 22, who works as an outdoor-vending cast member for the theme park, was booked on suspicion of possessing a destructive device and is currently being held on $1 million bail after police linked him to the crime. Anaheim Police Sgt. Bob Dunn said that Barnes was cooperating with investigators, telling them the blast was an “isolated incident with unanticipated impacts.”
The incident began just before 5:30PM Tuesday when Anaheim police officers responded to a bang erupting from a covered trash can in the ToonTown area of the the theme park. They discovered remnants of a combusted water bottle, indicating a dry-ice explosive. This simple bomb-like device is typically made by filling a water bottle one-quarter full of water, adding chunks of dry ice, and sealing the container. As the water warms the dry ice, the solid carbon dioxide sublimates into gas and builds pressure within the bottle, which eventually ruptures.
Following an investigation of the area by the Orange County Sheriff’s Bomb Squad, guests were permitted back into the northern area of the park at 7:30PM.
{FG_GEOMAP [33.8153513,-117.9251185] FG_GEOMAP}