Report: Orlando shooter scouted Disney Springs for possible attack
FOX NEWS - Orlando area amusement parks are ramping up security in the wake of a Muslim terrorist attack at a gay nightclub on Sunday morning that claimed 49 victims and injured 53 others.
Deputies at Disney World "were put on alert" Capt. Angelo Nieves of the Orange County Sheriff's Office told the Orlando Sentinel. The sheriff's office provides law-enforcement services to Disney's theme parks. Nieves did not give details, but he said officers were being "extra cautious and vigilant in the park areas."
On Monday, People reported that gunman Omar Mateen and his wife, Noor Zahi Salman, visited Walt Disney World in April. Salman told federal authorities that, more recently, her husband has been "scouting Downtown Disney and Pulse [nightclub] for attacks."
The Walt Disney World, SeaWorld and Universal parks in the Orlando area installed metal detectors at their entrances in December after terrorists killed 14 people in San Bernardino, Calif. But park employees required only randomly selected patrons to walk through them.
Unlike the major Disney World Resort theme parks -- Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom and Epcot -- Disney Springs (formally known as Downtown Disney), is about 6 miles from Magic Kingdom and does not have security or bag checkpoints.