As hard as it can be, it's important to say something when you see something. When you speak up, you might save someone's life.
That was exactly what was going through TikToker @nochillheather's mind when she stopped at a gas station in Bryon, Texas, and was about to use the women's restroom. Before entering the restroom, she noticed there was a metal box at the top of the women's restroom door, but not on any of the other doors, including the men's room, an employees-only door, and an emergency exit.
Upon closer examination, it was a locking mechanism, manufactured by Hua Xing Qiang, which makes locks that can be controlled with a manual locking mechanism, a key, and even an app on your phone.
What's troubling is that a woman could walk unknowingly into that restroom, and the holder of the locking code could lock the door from the outside, trapping them in the restroom.
@nochillheather/TikTok
Since Texas has had to seriously buckle down on its human trafficking laws and prevention efforts, it's easy to make the leap to thinking that this is a great example of why those prevention efforts are in place. If another room could access the women's restroom, like a concealed door between the men's and the women's, or a private door out of the side of the building, then an unsuspecting woman could be trapped and then secretly moved to a new location.
Thoroughly creeped out, the TikToker immediately called the police, who was unable to do anything. She then involved the fire department, who took the matter of someone being trapped into a restroom during a fire very seriously.
The TikToker recorded a little of the interaction between the officer and the gas station manager, who was fretting about calling someone higher up about the matter.
The officer shut that down, stating:
"You can call your boss, but no matter how he feels about it, it's coming down today in front of me with my tools or yours."
You can watch the video here:
Fellow TikTokers applauded @nochillheather for using her voice.
@nochillheather/TikTok
@nochillheather/TikTok
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@nochillheather/TikTok
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@nochillheather/TikTok
@nochillheather/TikTok
It's important that TikToker @nochillheather spoke up about what she saw. No matter what the reason was for the lock being there, the fire department was right in at least seeing it as a fire hazard, which is also important, even if it was there for much darker purposes.
Always speak up when you're safe to. It could save someone's life.
@GovPressOffice/X
