A nearly 12-foot alligator took the life of Steven Hamilton, a 71-year-old fisherman, while he was fishing by a pond in the Dr. Bradford Memorial Park in Winter Garden, Florida, marking the second fatal alligator attack in the state during 2026, according to reports from CBS News.
The incident occurred on Friday afternoon, around five o'clock, in that park located about 15 miles northwest of Orlando, as confirmed by the Winter Garden Police Department.
The reptile, measuring 11 feet and eight inches (approximately 3.56 meters) and believed to have originated from nearby Lake Apopka, bit Hamilton and dragged him into the water.
The presence of other active alligators in the area severely complicated rescue efforts, according to Winter Garden Fire Chief José Gainza, who spoke to the network FOX35.
The firefighters were able to recover Hamilton's body approximately two hours after the attack, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
A trapper from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) came to the park, captured the animal, and euthanized it.
The police captain Michael Mason explained that authorities had not received any prior notice about the presence of the reptile near the shore, something he attributed to the enormous density of alligators inhabiting Lake Apopka: "Lake Apopka has tons of alligators, so it's not unusual to see alligators in this part of the city."
Mason ended his message with a direct warning to the public: “Always stay alert. Always be careful. Respect wildlife. Maintain your distance. Even if it seems docile, like Florida's emblem, it can be dangerous.”
The Winter Garden police and the FWC opened a joint investigation into the incident.
This tragedy is the second deadly incident of this kind recorded in Florida this year. The first was that of Brittany Clark, 31 years old, who lost her life at the end of June after being attacked while swimming in the Econlockhatchee River, within the Little Big Econ State Forest, in Seminole County.
In that instance, the alligator tore off one of his arms and caused serious injuries to the other; Clark died before reaching the hospital. Authorities captured and euthanized two alligators at the site: one measuring 13 feet and the other 12.5 feet.
With the two deaths this year, the historical total of fatalities from alligator attacks in Florida since 1948 rises to 34 people, according to data from the state itself.
Florida is home to over a million alligators and in a typical year records around a dozen unprovoked attacks, although 2023 was the most active year recently with 23 incidents, two of which were fatal.
The summer and fall of 2026 have been particularly intense with attacks: in addition to the two fatalities, an 11-year-old boy lost his right hand in June after being attacked while fishing in Marion County, and a woman was injured in August in another incident in a river in the state.
Experts have linked the increase in sightings and movements of alligators toward residential and recreational areas to a severe drought that reduced available habitat and concentrated the animals in smaller areas.
In the legislative arena, Republican Congressman Greg Steube introduced a resolution in August to examine whether federal protections for the American alligator—classified as "threatened by similarity of appearance" to the American crocodile since its population fully recovered in 1987—restrict Florida's ability to remove dangerous specimens from inhabited areas.
Related videos:
Filed under: