Law Firm Partner in Libya for Contractor Client Awakes Thursday to Unusual Gunfire
Law firm partner Sally Woodward at Shutts & Bowen in Tampa worked into the early morning hours on Thursday on a contract for a client, a government contractor.
Woodward awoke on Thursday afternoon to the sounds of cars honking and an unusual amount of gunfire, according to the St. Petersburg Times and the Tampa Tribune. She was in Tripoli, and soon realized the reason—Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi had been killed and the people were celebrating.
“It’s like watching history unfold,” she told the St. Petersburg Times.
Woodward is staying at the Corinthia Hotel, the site of several rebel news conferences. Many international journalists are also at the hotel. She said she felt safe in the city because of armed checkpoints and what appeared to be a concern for everyone’s welfare.
The hotel was also taking safety measures, Woodward told the St. Petersburg Times while speaking on a phone in the hotel lobby. “As I’m standing here,” she said, “the most disconcerting thing is watching someone walk in with a machine gun and get it checked with a tag at the door.”
