A nearly 12-foot-long alligator took the life of a 71-year-old senior as he innocently fished along the shore of a lake in Florida near Orlando Friday afternoon.
It was the second fatal alligator attack in the Sunshine State this year, according to authorities and news outlets.
Steven Hamilton was fishing along the shore of Lake Apopka in Winter Garden when the alligator struck around 5 p.m., the Winter Garden Police Department said. The lake is about 20 miles from Orlando.
Emergency crews attempted to rescue Hamilton but were prevented by other alligators who were also in the water, Winter Garden Fire Chief Jose Gainza told FOX 35.
Responders finally recovered his body around 7 p.m. Authorities said the alligator measured 11.8 feet.
“The FWC extends its deepest sympathies to the family and loved ones of the victim during this difficult time,” the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission said in a statement.
Winter Garden Police Chief Michael Mason said the huge alligator was trapped and killed to prevent further such attacks.
Mason also told the Orlando station that the lake “has tons of alligators in it” and authorities did not know before the attack that one was perusing the shore.
“Always be aware of your surroundings. Always be safe,” he said. “Wildlife: Respect it. Keep your distance. It looks like it’s docile, it looks like your Florida emblem, but it can be dangerous.”
American alligators thrive everywhere in Florida, although attacks are rare, according to statistics kept by authorities.
In June, a 13-foot alligator killed a 31-year-old Brittany Clark while she was swimming in the Econlockhatchee River near her home in Oviedo in central Florida.
In May of last year, a 11-foot alligator killed 61-year-old Cynthia Diekema after it tipped her and her husband out of her canoe on Lake Kissimmee about 70 miles south of Orlando.
Her husband valiantly tried to free her as the reptile to no avail as it had her entire torso in its mouth, according to news reports.
Including the Hamilton fatality, 34 people have been killed by alligators in Florida, according to state data, Fox News reported.
Breitbart contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the best-selling author of the Los Angeles crime novel Below the Line and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.
