French police confirm man held with two firearms while trying to enter a hotel near the theme park to the east of Paris

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

A 28-year-old man has been arrested after he was stopped trying to enter a hotel near Disneyland Paris with two guns in his bag.



Hotel New York’s security team stopped the man when his bag went through the X-ray machine at the front door, French radio station France Info reported. Police then took him into custody. A French police official said no one had been injured in the incident.

A police source said initial elements of the investigation did not point to terrorism, and that the man had said he was carrying the guns because he feared for his safety. Local police are currently handling the inquiry, which has not been passed to anti-terrorism investigators.

Police said the man was carrying two low-calibre weapons including an automatic handgun, a box of cartridges and a Qur’an. A police source told Reuters the man arrested was a 28-year-old European.

Police then arrested a woman, believing her to be his girlfriend, but released her after realising they had the wrong woman, one of the police sources said. The man’s girlfriend was still being sought.



Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Hotel New York at Disneyland Paris. Photograph: Alamy

French media reported that as a precaution the man’s car had been located in the car park and a security cordon placed around it.

The man was said to be trying to enter the hotel near Disneyland outside Paris to make a reservation. French media reported that he did not appear to be known to the security services.



Disneyland Paris remained open after the incident. The park is situated about 18 miles (30km) east of the French capital and is the most visited theme park in Europe, with about 10 million visitors in 2014.

France remains under a state of emergency since Islamist extremist attacks around Paris killed 130 people in November.