According to The Guardian, a small alligator found its way into the back room of Bagel Dock Express, a bagel shop in North Carolina, before strolling into the main restaurant area and scaring employees. The Guardian published the account as a video report on November 4, 2026.
A Fox News report said a 3-foot alligator slipped into Bagel Dock Express in Southport, North Carolina, and that surveillance video captured the "stunned reaction" of Jesse Driscoll. The headline of the report referred to the owner, saying the encounter sent the owner scrambling. Fox News published it on November 5, 2026.
The reports differ in some details. The Guardian's summary did not name the city, while Fox News gave the animal's length as three feet and placed the shop in Southport. The Guardian called the animal small, and its summary describes it moving from the back room into the main restaurant area, a route the Fox News summary does not describe. Neither summary says how the alligator reached the shop, whether anyone was hurt, or how it was removed.
Both reports describe an alligator entering the restaurant, and both are presented in video. The Guardian headline says the animal strolled into a bagel shop, while the Fox News headline says it sneaked in. This account draws only on the headlines and summaries of the two reports, which are brief.
Sources: The Guardian: Alligator strolls into bagel shop in North Carolina - video; Fox News: Alligator sneaks into North Carolina bagel shop, sends owner scrambling in encounter caught on camera.