A 71-year-old man fishing on the shore of a Florida pond was attacked and killed on Friday by an almost 12-foot alligator, the second deadly such assault reported this yr.
Steven Hamilton of Winter Backyard was standing on the shoreline of Lake Apopka at Dr. Bradford Memorial Park, 15 miles (24 kilometers) northwest of Orlando, when the reptile struck round 5 p.m., the Winter Backyard Police Division mentioned.
The presence of different lively alligators within the water sophisticated any likelihood of rescuing Hamilton, whose physique was recovered round two hours later, Winter Backyard Hearth Chief Jose Gainza told FOX35.
Hamilton’s dying marked the second lethal alligator assault in Florida this yr.
After a 31-year-old Oviedo girl, Brittany Clark, was killed by a 13-foot alligator close to her dwelling in June, Republican U.S. Rep. Greg Steube launched a decision calling for the Comptroller Common and U.S. Division of the Inside to check the impacts of the American alligator’s itemizing as “threatened as a result of similarity of look” on Florida’s capability to take away nuisance alligators from residential and business waterways. He mentioned the species has been absolutely recovered since 1987, however it stays protected to stop trafficking and the searching of the similar-looking American crocodile.
Utilizing Florida state data, the 2 2026 deaths carry the full variety of people killed by alligators since 1948 to 34. Amongst them was a 61-year-old woman tipped out of her canoe by an alligator in 2025 and an 85-year-old widow who was dragged out of her yard by an alligator while walking her dog in 2023.
Police Capt. Michael Mason mentioned authorities weren’t alerted prematurely Friday that an alligator was close to the shoreline of the lake, probably as a result of the lake “has tons of alligators in it.” He mentioned police have launched a joint investigation with the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Fee, whose trappers captured and killed the animal.
“At all times concentrate on your environment. At all times be protected,” he mentioned. “Wildlife: Respect it. Preserve your distance. It seems prefer it’s docile, it seems like your Florida emblem, however it may be harmful.”
