Elderly shopper sparks police callout

Is every alarm a sign of danger? This was the question officers from the Local Police of Castilleja de la Cuesta in Sevilla have been left to consider.

Police quickly responded after they were alerted to an intruder in a local store on February 28, a public holiday in Andalucia, when shops are expected to be closed.

An unexpected entry

Despite the holiday, a malfunction allowed the doors of a supermarket, which should have been closed, to inadvertently welcome a single visitor.

An elderly woman, who over the years has become accustomed to her daily routine, unknowingly accessed the store via an operational lift. Inside, the lights and music were on, which gave no hint that it was a public holiday.

‘She told us that it had seemed to her that he was a little emptier,’ said the police, who revealed the woman’s obliviousness to the absence of both staff and fellow shoppers. Despite this, she proceeded to fill her trolley with food and household cleaning products.

A surprising conclusion

The woman’s shopping adventure reached its climax at the checkout, where she was greeted not by cashiers, but by officers from the Local Police and the Guardia Civil.

They explained the situation without imposing any charges or detention, and contacted a responsible party on her behalf.

‘She got a huge surprise,’ said the Local Police, expressing mutual astonishment among the responding officers who had prepared for a burglary, only to find an elderly lady who had oddly found her way into the locked store.

This mix-up not only left the woman astonished but also offered a moment of levity for the officers involved.