A 71-year-old man was pulled from the shoreline and killed by an alligator while fishing Friday at a pond in Winter Garden, Florida, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said. The reptile measured nearly 12 feet long.
Wildlife officials identified the victim as Steve Hamilton.
The attack occurred around 5 p.m. at Dr. Bradford Memorial Park, a site featuring several small ponds linked to the larger Lake Apopka. Alligators are commonly seen in the area, which even includes a crossing known as Gator Bridge.
“Lake Apopka has tons of alligators in it, so that’s not uncommon to see alligators in this part of town at all,” Winter Garden Police Capt. Michael Mason told reporters Friday evening.
Hamilton was standing on the bank when the alligator attacked and dragged him into the water, Mason said. FWC officials later captured and removed an alligator measuring 11 feet, 8 inches.
“Always be aware of your surroundings, always be safe. Local wildlife, respect it, keep your distance. It looks like it’s docile, it looks like your Florida emblem, but it can be dangerous.”
Ronen Tivony/NurPhoto via Getty Images
SEE ALSO: NYC Woman Accused of Deed Theft Says Co-Conspirator Stole Her Home, Lawsuit Claims
Hamilton is the second person killed by an alligator in Florida this year. Brittany Clark, 31, was killed in June while swimming in Little Big Econ State Forest near Orlando. Her boyfriend and friends attempted to rescue her, but she was later pronounced dead. On the 911 call, a person can be heard saying that Clark had lost one arm, was close to losing the other and was “losing a lot of blood.”
“It’s bad,” her boyfriend said during the 911 call. “It’s really bad. Please hurry.”
Alligator attacks remain relatively uncommon in Florida, even though the state is home to hundreds of thousands of the animals. Aside from 2022, when 23 attacks were reported, the annual total generally remains near a dozen, according to the FWC.
Florida recorded 13 alligator attacks last year, including eight classified as major attacks. Two of those were fatal, according to state data. Since recordkeeping began in 1948, 32 people have died in alligator attacks across Florida, with no more than three fatalities reported in any single year.
The two fatal attacks in 2025 involved Cynthia Diekema, 61, who was attacked while canoeing in Polk County in May, and Deborah Herndon, 73, who was found dead in December at a residential pond in Pinellas County.
