US Tourist Tweets His Way Out of Locked London Bookstore
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Zoonar/Thinkstock(LONDON) — A Dallas man visiting London got more of a visit than he bargained for when he found himself locked inside a Trafalgar Square bookstore for over two hours.
David Willis, 30, went into the Waterstones bookstore on Thursday to use their Wi-Fi but ran into trouble when he went to the store’s upstairs section to browse for books.
When he came back down to leave, Willis discovered a startling surprise.
“All the lights were turned out and the door was locked,” Willis told ABC News. “I thought to myself, it really looks like am locked in, but surely that didn’t happen.”
Once it sunk in for Willis that he was, in fact, trapped inside the bookstore, he turned to a last resort: tweeting.
This is me locked inside a waterstones bookstore in London. I was upstairs for 15 minutes and came… http://t.co/EefA1antuG
— David Willis (@DWill_) October 16, 2014
Hi @Waterstones I’ve been locked inside of your Trafalgar Square bookstore for 2 hours now. Please let me out.
— David Willis (@DWill_) October 16, 2014
Willis’s second tweet was retweeted thousands of times. Some Twitter users replied with offers of assistance, while others offered book recommendations, not that Willis was picking out any books during his time in Waterstones.
“I was too scared to even touch anything,” Willis said. “I didn’t want them to think that I hid in the store.”
Just over two hours after his first tweet, police and the store manager arrived to free Willis.
We’re pleased to announce that @DWill_ is a free man once more. Thanks for your concern and tweets!
— Waterstones (@Waterstones) October 16, 2014
I’m free
— David Willis (@DWill_) October 16, 2014
“I think it was just a simple mistake,” said Willis. “The manager asked me to come back but I’ll just make sure that it’s not close to closing time.”
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