Surveillance video shows baby alligator’s trip through Southport business

SOUTHPORT, NC (WWAY) — A 3-foot alligator crawled inside of the Bagel Dock Express in Southport Thursday afternoon, catching the owner unaware.

Surveillance video shows toe store’s owner, Jesse Driscoll’s brief panic as the alligator moved into the storefront, before calling 911, where Southport Police and Animal Protective Services safely removed it.

Driscoll said the visit truly came out of left field.

“It’s just so far out of the ordinary for a bagel shop,” said Driscoll. “You can see lots of things. People coming in. Friends coming in to say hi. But, never in a million years did I think I’d see an alligator. It was a shock to see me as I was him.”

“Apparently, word of our fresh bagels has made its way into the swamp!” the shop wrote in a Facebook post. “No injuries, no drama … just one very unusual customer! Fresh bagels. Wild experiences.”

Bagel Dock Express was closed at the time.

Driscoll said he was distracted with the installation of a new oven.

Alligators are native to the North Carolina coast, and Southport police are accustomed to odd alligator-related 911 calls.

Earlier this year, a 12-foot alligator was found on a Southport woman’s doorstep, and an 8-foot alligator was caught at a bank drive-thru.