Published 12:00 am Thursday, May 30, 2013
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Police arrested a Disneyland employee on suspicion of putting a so-called dry ice bomb in a theme park trash can where it exploded, authorities said Wednesday.
No one was injured in the small blast, but Disneyland briefly evacuated the Mickey’s Toontown section where the incident occurred Tuesday. The trash can did not blow up.
Christian Barnes, 22, of Long Beach was arrested for investigation of possessing a destructive device, just hours after the blast, Anaheim police Sgt. Bob Dunn said in a statement.
Barnes, who worked as an outdoor vendor for the resort, was held on $1 million bail, Dunn said.
Dunn said Barnes was cooperating with investigators, telling them the blast was an isolated incident with results he did not expect, Dunn said.
Detectives found fragments of a water bottle in the trash can and believe Barnes placed dry ice inside it to create the explosion, a police spokesman said. Such bombs are easy to make and can be used as classroom chemistry demonstrations, said John Goodpaster at Purdue’s School of Science at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.