Disneyland vendor linked to Toontown blast due in court
A Long Beach man accused of exploding a dry ice bomb at Disneyland is scheduled to appear in Orange County Superior Court on Thursday morning.
Christian Barnes, 22, is being held in lieu of $1-million bail in connection with the Tuesday afternoon explosion in a Toontown trash can. The blast did little if any damage to the trash can and caused no injuries, officials said, but did spook park guests and forced Disneyland to close Toontown for two hours while the Orange County Sheriff’s Department bomb squad swept the area.
“He’s not no one that would do something to hurt anyone or anything like that,” Christian’s father, Raymond Barnes, told KTLA.
Neither Anaheim police nor Disney officials would discuss whether they believed the dry ice bomb was a prank or something more sinister.
Anaheim Police Sgt. Bob Dunn would only say that though it took “some knowledge to construct something like this,” Barnes did not appear to be aware of the potential consequences of his actions.
“This is a very serious incident with very serious consequences that could include the injury or death of people,” Dunn said.
Barnes was an outdoor soda vendor who had easy access to the dry ice used to keep the refreshments cold, a park official said.
Investigators believe that the dry ice was placed in a plastic water bottle and that the pressure that built up in the container as the dry ice got warmer caused the explosion about 5:30 p.m.
Disneyland spokeswoman Suzi Brown would not discuss details of the incident but said in a prepared statement: “We take matters like this very seriously and are working closely with local authorities.”
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