NEWSBoston Woman Meets a Stranger at Home Depot and Agrees to a Bowling Date. Then Seven Men Keep Staring as He Hands Her a Drink
Joanne Gabriel recounted the date that left her concerned about her safety.
Oct. 22 2026, Published 7:17 a.m. ET
A Boston woman shared her concerns after a bowling date with a man she met at Home Depot, claiming several men repeatedly watched them during the outing.
TikTok creator Joanne Gabriel (@joanne.gabriel) said the experience left her worried about a possible trafficking scheme, although her claims have not been independently verified.
Gabriel shared her story in a TikTok video, with her on-screen text stating, "I almost got s-- trafficked in Boston."
She described several moments that made her uncomfortable.
Gabriel Met The Man At Home Depot
Joanne Gabriel shared her account of a bowling date with a man she met at Home Depot.
Gabriel said she first encountered the man while shopping for a power pack for a beach worship event organized through her ministry. According to her, he offered to help, and she found him attractive enough to exchange phone numbers.
She explained why she agreed to get to know him.
Gabriel said, "I mean, why not? Like, he’s cute; he seemed nice, like he wanted to help me out."
The two began texting, but Gabriel said she became cautious when he asked for her home address soon after they met.
Joanne Gabriel described the encounter that led her to exchange numbers with the stranger.
She felt he was asking for personal information before making an effort to get to know her.
"I met you one time in person," she said.
"You haven’t even really asked about me as a person, but you wanna know where I live?" she added.
Gabriel said she refused to share her address and made her boundaries clear. The man later invited her to go bowling, and she agreed after praying about the decision.
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Gabriel Says Several Men Watched Her During the Date
Joanne Gabriel said several men watched her during the bowling outing.
Gabriel said they planned to meet at a bowling alley at 5 p.m. She arrived about 15 minutes late after informing the man, but he was not there when she arrived. He later texted to say he was on his way.
While waiting, Gabriel noticed another man repeatedly looking at her. She said the situation became more uncomfortable when several men approached and asked whether she was waiting for someone.
According to Gabriel, the men told her that her date was downstairs. She eventually found him, and he greeted her with flowers before suggesting they go upstairs to bowl and play arcade games.
Gabriel claimed the group continued watching them from an area where they could see the pair. When she asked her date whether he knew the men, she said he became defensive.
Gabriel Leaves The Date After Concerns About A Drink
Joanne Gabriel said she contacted friends and shared her location after growing uncomfortable during the date.
Gabriel said another moment raised concerns when her date bought her an open cup of water.
She described it as when he encouraged her to drink it after they returned from playing arcade games.
Although she did not see anyone tamper with the drink, Gabriel said she worried that something might have happened to it. She contacted friends, shared her location, and decided she wanted to leave.
She also described watching the man interact with one of the other men before returning with bowling shoes.
The pair eventually played one game of bowling before Gabriel left early. She said she blocked the man's number and left the flowers in the parking lot because she no longer felt comfortable.
