Frederick Torres (courtesy abc11.com)

A couple of days ago, I wrote about Disney disarmament 2.0. The post revealed that Universal Studios Orlando is down with Disney on the whole guest wanding, metal detector thing. Let’s log today’s post under “be careful what you disarm for.” To wit: “A recently fired caricature artist at Universal Orlando Resort tried to kill his manager by stabbing him in the head and neck with scissors on New Year’s Day,” abcnews.go.com reports. Of particular note: how Universal security dealt with the threat and the attack itself . . .

Frederick Torres, 33, [above] was charged with attempted first-degree murder for his attack on Glenn Ferguson at the Islands of Adventure park. Both artists draw caricatures at Universal’s parks but work for an outside firm, Orlando-based Fasen Artists, Inc.

The general manager of the firm, Anthony Fasen, told detectives he had fired Torres the day before the attack. On New Year’s Day, Torres called Fasen, who said he reiterated that Torres was fired. Torres then said he was going to kill Ferguson, according to the police report.

“Fasen advised specifically that Torres had said, ‘I’m going to slit Glenn’s throat’ and ‘I’m going to kill your number one artist,'” the police report said . . .

Witnesses told detectives that they saw Torres chasing Ferguson through Islands of Adventure before the attack Friday morning. A security guard got between Torres and Ferguson, and another guard showed up at the scene. Despite that, Torres lunged at Ferguson and struck him several times. Ferguson tried to get up to run but fell to the ground, according to the police report . . .

The stabbings cut an artery in Ferguson’s neck and caused brain leakage, according to the police report. He underwent surgery and was still hospitalized Monday, but his condition wasn’t immediately known. The police report did not list his age, but Orlando Police spokeswoman Michelle Guido said Monday that he is 42.

Hmmm. Did Mr. Torres’ ex boss, Mr. Fasen, inform the Orlando police and Universal security about the death threat against his employee, Glenn Ferguson? Let’s go ahead and assume that Mr. Fasen dropped a dime on Mr. Torres. In that case, Orlando police and Universal security somehow failed to intercept Mr. Torres as he entered the park. Universal security failed to provide Mr. Ferguson with a protective detail. And two Universal security guards failed to subdue Mr. Torres during the attack.

Were the Universal Security guards armed? We know someone who wasn’t: Glenn Ferguson. Universal’s “no guns” policy left Mr. Ferguson defenseless against Mr. Torres’ attack. The same way it leaves all its guests defenseless against a terrorist or criminal attack. Let’s hope a lawsuit highlights this deficiency instead of something else even worse. Meanwhile, we hope Mr. Ferguson makes a complete and speedy recovery from his injuries.

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16 COMMENTS

  1. Nice breakdown of the events, dear hosts.

    Net: If yr gonna prevent me from taking care of myself (at the point of a gun, ironically), its on you to do yake care of me. That or you’re ok with me being chum. Any questions?

    I’d be far more impressed if Bloomie put his $ into “Armed guards for anyone who asks.” vs “No guns for you!” Take the “protect myself” argument right off the table, along with training the dangerous gun wielders (done right, because Bloomie!), and tracking the eeeevil guns (also done right, because Bloomie is doing it.)

    Bloomie gets his armed guards, while artist supervisors do not, its almost like some animals people are more equal than others.

  2. The disarmists don’t give a sh!t about the safety of others. The goal of civilian disarmament is far too lofty to worry about the deaths of defenseless peons. The disarmed fall into 2 basic categories:

    1. “Important” people with their own security details.

    Examples: Bloomberg, Obama, Hillary, Feinstein

    2. Useful idiots with no comprehension of human history and government democide.

    Examples: Joyce Foundation, CSGV, registered democrats

  3. A lawsuit is certain to fail. Universal’s defense will be that their responsibility ends at properly maintaining the facility and operating it safely. All responsibility falls on the attacker who was not a Universal employee.

    This is why many businesses prohibit firearms and forbid their employees to take action against criminals. They are not liable when an employee or customer is harmed by an outsider. At worst, they lose the cash or merchandise stolen. On the other hand, a business could be bankrupted by an adverse court judgement even if the employee’s or armed customer’s actions were justified.

  4. I guess it’s time to stock up on these. $6 and up. Never considered them before due to fixed-blade laws.

    I don’t want to be in a knife fight. But if that’s all I have…
    ============

    These knives are made of a super strong nylon composite that is almost as hard as steel. They can be driven through plywood like a nail. They are completely undetectable when passing through metal detectors

    http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=poly+knife&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1313.TR7.TRC2.A0.H0.Xplastic+knife.TRS0&_nkw=plastic+knife&_sacat=0

  6. Let’s hope a lawsuit highlights this deficiency instead of something else even worse.
    That’s hilarious! We all know that the only change that a lawsuit like this will cause is a ban on scissors. So that next time somebody gets sued they can claim they’re not liable, because the attacker violated their scissors ban.

  8. The “Knife-Wielding Artist” “tried to kill his manager by stabbing him in the head and neck with scissors.”

    I’m confused.

  9. I would never take my family to a kill zone. That is what this park and others like it have become.

  10. We should arm potential victims … and it will be worth it if we can save just one life.

  11. Out of curiosity, what holster would one theoretically recommend to use to conceal carry a G27 Gen4 on a rollercoaster?

    • Probably depends on if the roller coaster goes upside down or just has steep drops. All the big roller coasters at Islands of Adventure have their own metal detectors through which everyone passes. All because someone lost an eye due to a loose cell phone on one of their coasters.

    • I was wondering that too. I mean, I can kinda guess, but it usually only happens through an open skull.

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