Bodega Incident

Artists depiction.^[1]

On April 5th, 2023, a recording of a private Discord call between Daniel, his management, and someone pretending to be Olivia VanderWaal was uploaded to Reddit by user u/cybercrimer. In the recording, Daniel is heard (and somewhat seen) getting into an altercation with a worker at a bodega, following him being asked to leave the premises. The catalyst for this incident happened when u/Zokmonkee of r/Daniellarson subreddit posted multiple video recordings^[2] of himself harassing Daniel, beginning at a restaurant, before showing up at a bodega.

The "fans" repeatedly asked Daniel questions, such as if he smoked crack or tweak. They additionally lied to Daniel, saying that they were his friends, causing him to become even more agitated. Daniel can be seen throughout the videos talking about an unspecified "security" force, and threatening to call the police on u/Zokmonkee. Daniel can be seen talking about harassment to the employee he'd soon after punch, making the previous fan interaction a possible influence behind Daniel's poor behavior and his eventual removal from the store. However, there is no documentation of these teenagers encouraging Daniel to assault the Bodega employee, unlike his management and "Olivia", who are documented encouraging such behavior. (We originally found Daniel in "The Gem Saloon" and talked to him inside. Shortly after we restaurant have scared him away and he walked out of the restaurant under our noses. We spotted him shortly after on the same block little Inidia was on and when we confronted him he went inside - @Zokmonkey)

After this, the "fans" continue to follow Daniel throughout the store. Finally, he antagonizes Daniel by calling his name down random aisles, before Daniel eventually calls the police. This is where the video call where most of the incident was captured begins. The call took place in a private Discord server called "Daniel Larson HQ," where his "managers" and the newest fake Olivia VanderWaal used to communicate with Daniel.

In this call, Daniel is seen being kicked out of Little India Bodega by an employee for recording in the store and causing a disturbance. Daniel claims that he was directed to stay at the establishment by the police, who he had previously called, although it cannot be confirmed if he legitimately did call the police. However, Daniel claimed to have previously called the police due to the 5 teenagers who had been following him around the bodega. Despite his attempts to explain himself, the employee repeatedly tells Daniel to get out, and can then be seen pushing him out. The camera cuts in and out, but Daniel is seen exiting through the door.

The fake Olivia VanderWaal encourages Daniel to defend himself, going as far as to say he should spit on the employee. Daniel starts screaming, saying that the police "told him to wait in there", remaining ultimately being ignored and demanded to remove himself from the store. While the situation unfolded, the trolls calling him encouraged Daniel to assault the man multiple times.

Daniel accuses the employee of hitting him previously multiple times, and the employee, who by now stands at the entrance of the store, starts to call the police, with the employee telling Daniel that he will be arrested if he doesn't go right now. In a fit of rage, gives into what the trolls tell him, proceeding to charge at the man and attempting to punch him, who in response punches Daniel in the eye and pushed Daniel to the ground. Daniel moans and yells, "I HAVE YOU ON FILM!" while simultaneously capturing none of the assaults due to a shaky or obscured camera. Daniel turns his camera back on and screams that he was injured after being pushed to the ground and that his knee and eye were bleeding.

The managers and fake Olivia VanderWaal encourage Daniel to leave the bodega, only to be met with Daniel refusing to listen to their requests, as he stresses the need to take unspecified legal action against both the employee and the 5 teenagers who had been following him. Daniel then claims he is waiting outside the bodega for the police and EMS to tend to his injuries.

Videos

Transcript

Injuries

Daniel did not leave the situation unscathed as he somehow manages to do with most of his incidents. Daniel claims he is waiting for paramedics due to the black eye he sustained during the altercation, and later a picture of the blackeye was uploaded to Reddit by user u/tawnypunani. About an hour after the incident, Daniel reveals that he is still waiting for the EMS because he is afraid he may have sustained a concussion during the altercation.

Later, it was reported Daniel had checked out of the hospital. While in the emergency room, he was screened for a concussion, and it was found that he did not sustain one. No serious injuries were reported.

Daniel uploads another video from the hospital later in the night. It has not been confirmed whether the video is from his initial visit or if he returned. The black eye is present in the video. In the video, Daniel claims he was attacked by two fans in New York City in 2023. He claims he has no fractures, but has a good-sized cut on his nose. He states that is his only injury.

While during his stay at the hospital, he was fitted with a large gauze bandage on his nose. However, in his Tiktok videos of himself touring the 9/11 memorial and other attractions, he does not have this bandage on.

On April 6th, Daniel uploaded an image of his hospital visit and discharge instructions to his Tiktok page. In the document shown, the only injuries recorded are "Diagnosis: Abrasion.".