Armed man at Disneyland Paris to go on trial, terror link ruled out
AFP
January 31, 2016, 9:13 am
Meaux (France) (AFP) - A man who was found to be carrying two handguns as he tried to enter a hotel at Disneyland Paris will go on trial Tuesday on charges of possessing and transporting weapons and ammunition, prosecutors said.
The 28-year-old man was detained on Thursday after the weapons, along with ammunition and a Koran, were discovered in his bag during a routine security check at the amusement park's New York Hotel.
He risks up to five years in prison and a fine of 75,000 euros ($82,000), the prosecutor's office in the city of Meaux, east of the French capital, said in a statement Saturday.
The incident comes as France remains on high alert after gunmen and suicide bombers killed 130 people in coordinated attacks in Paris in November.
But prosecutors have already said the man is not suspected of any terrorism offences.
During questioning the man said he had been carrying the guns -- two small calibre automatic pistols -- because he did not want to leave them at his mother's home where he was living, a police source told AFP earlier.
Another police source, however, said the man initially told officers he had been armed because he feared for his own safety.
The man's girlfriend was also taken in for questioning on Thursday but prosecutors said they were satisfied that she was not incriminated in any wrongdoing.
Disneyland Paris is the most visited theme park in Europe, with 14.8 million visitors in 2015, according to Euro Disney's annual report.
