2 alligators caught, killed in Florida after homeless man attacked
MELBOURNE, Fla. -- Florida wildlife officials say they’ve captured and killed an alligator believed to have attacked a homeless man who was swimming in a river.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokesman Greg Workman told Florida Today on Tuesday that authorities actually captured and killed two large alligators in Crane Creek in Melbourne. Both gators were about 11 feet long.
Melbourne police say officers were training in the area Monday morning near an overpass of highway U.S. 1 when they heard the man screaming. The officers found him on the river bank with deep puncture wounds to his shoulder.
Melbourne police Cmdr. Dan Lynch told CBS affiliate WKMG the “alligator came up and grabbed” the man in the Indian River in Brevard County.
The 56-year-old man, who was swimming, was bitten on the shoulder by a gator that Melbourne police said was “definitely a big one.”
Authorities say the man was conscious but in pain when he was taken to a hospital. He was in stable condition Monday night. WKMG reported that the man is expected to survive.