Man arrested in Disney World "active shooter" YouTube stunt
ORLANDO, Fla. — A 22-year-old Arizona man was arrested early Monday after he falsely told guests at Walt Disney World's Contemporary Resort that there was an active shooter inside the hotel to get reactions out of them, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Office.
CBS affiliate WKMG reports that shortly after midnight, a hotel employee reported to her manager that Dillion Burch told her he had told guests that the resort was locked down because of a shooter. She said Burch told her he made the claims while recording a video for his YouTube channel.
When the manager approached Burch and asked him why, he said he was working on a school project in which he had to record people's reactions when they find out an emergency is happening, deputies said. Other guests said an intoxicated man told them there was an active shooter, or some other emergency, and that they needed to evacuate. He later admitted that it was a joke, the witnesses told deputies.
According to the report, the manager told Burch he couldn't do that and that deputies were on their way to talk to him.
Burch told the manager he would leave on his own and asked him not to follow him, the report said. He then walked out of the hotel lobby, saw deputy's lights and began running into the parking lot, authorities said.
Hotel security later found Burch hiding in a row of bushes on hotel property. When deputies arrived, they found Burch crawling out from his hiding spot, according to the police report. Burch was searched and taken into custody by deputies. During the search, authorities located a beer in his backpack, deputies said.
Burch is charged with disturbing the peace at a public lodging and disorderly intoxication. He was evicted from his hotel room and banned from Walt Disney World property, the report said.
During his first appearance Tuesday, Burch pleaded no contest to both charges and was sentenced to three days in jail.