Police in Winter Garden, a town in central Florida near Orlando, said a 71-year-old man was killed on Friday, 16 October, while fishing on the bank of a pond connected to Lake Apopka. The attack happened at about 5 p.m. local time in Dr. Bradford Memorial Park, where the alligator reached the shoreline, seized him and pulled him into the water. Reports differ on the animal's size, with lengths given as between 3.5 and 3.7 metres (roughly 12 feet). Police said no alligator sighting had been reported at the pond before the attack, although the lake is a known alligator habitat in Central Florida.
Emergency crews responded to a 911 call and tried to reach the man, but other alligators in the water made the work dangerous. Winter Garden fire chief Jose Gainza said the reptiles hampered the rescue effort. The man's body was recovered from the water about two hours after the attack, and emergency personnel had declared him dead at the scene, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). Authorities then sent an alligator trapper to find the animal responsible. Police later said it had been removed as a danger to the public and killed.
At a news conference on Friday, police captain Michael Mason described the lake as a place with many alligators.
“Lake Apopka has tons of alligators in it, so that's not uncommon to see alligators in this part of town at all.”
Mason urged residents to stay alert around water and keep their distance from wildlife. He said alligators can look calm while still being dangerous, and he asked people to pay attention to their surroundings.
“Always be aware of your surroundings, always be safe.”
The FWC and Winter Garden police are investigating the death together.
Fatal attacks remain rare. The FWC, which collects reports of encounters with alligators, counts about 500 unprovoked attacks in Florida since 1948. Versions differ on the fatal count: one gives 34 fatal attacks since 1948, while another gives 32 for the period 1948 to 2025, both attributed to the commission. The state's alligator population is estimated at more than 1.3 million.
The death is the second fatal alligator attack in Florida this year. In late June, a 31-year-old woman was killed while swimming in the Econlockhatchee River near Orlando, in Seminole County. The animal responsible was removed from the river and euthanized. Autopsy results released in July showed she died from her wounds.
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On Friday, 16 October, around 5 p.m. local time, an alligator pulled a 71-year-old man into the water at a park in Winter Garden, Florida. Other alligators hampered the rescue, and the animal was later killed or removed.
AI text based on reports by Spiegel Online, gelderlander.nl, The New York Times and other publishers. Published .