Teen OK after getting locked in a gun safe


Girl spends 30 minutes locked in a gun safe in a local Wal-Mart store

Date published: 12/20/2006

By KEITH EPPS

Guns safes are good for keeping people out.

A teenage girl learned the hard way yesterday that they can do a pretty good job of keeping someone in, as well.

The 15-year-old girl was embarrassed but fine after spending nearly 30 minutes locked inside a large gun safe at the Wal-Mart off State Route 3 in southern Stafford. The safe was about the size of a refrigerator.

The unusual incident began about 5:27 p.m., Assistant Chief Roger Sutherland of the Stafford County Fire and Rescue Department said.

The store manager reported that a child playing in the sporting goods section of the store had gotten locked inside a gun safe.

Sutherland said authorities initially thought they were dealing with a small child, but later learned it was the teenager.

Rescue workers were communicating with the girl the entire time. The safe had ventilation, but Sutherland said rescue workers pumped in extra air just to be safe.

No one was sure yesterday how the teen got into the safe. But there was considerable trouble getting her out.

The manager tried opening the locking mechanism on the front of the safe, but couldn't get the combination to work.

Rescue workers were about to force their way into the safe when the manager finally got the combination to work, Sutherland said.

That enabled the store to salvage the safe, which is worth several hundred dollars.

Witnesses to the incident said the girl was crying during and after the incident, but otherwise seemed fine.