A woman has been arrested for bringing a loaded gun into a circus show over the weekend, according to police in Upstate New York.
Tenitia R. Cullum, 32, of Rochester, allegedly had a firearm inside a diaper bag as she attempted to enter the KeyBank Center in Buffalo on Saturday for a performance of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey’s “The Greatest Show on Earth.” The .22 caliber handgun was allegedly found in the bag as it was going through an x-ray machine, according to the Erie County Sheriff’s Office.
The gun was loaded with one round in the chamber and six in the magazine, Erie County Sheriff John C. Garcia said. According to WIVB, Cullum did not have a pistol permit.
Cullum was placed under arrest and charged with criminal possession of a weapon in the 2nd degree and transported to the Erie County Holding Center, pending arraignment in Buffalo City Court.
Sheriff Garcia thanked KeyBank Center security for preventing the gun from entering the venue and assisting in the investigation.
The Buffalo show was one of two Upstate New York stops on Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey’s comeback tour. The Feld Entertainment-owned circus shut down in 2017 and returned as a reimagined show without animals after years of complaints; “The Greatest Show on Earth” will appear at the MVP Arena in Albany from Nov. 8-11, 2024.