An elderly woman was killed by two alligators who grabbed her before she could climb out of a Florida pond she fell into as she took a walk near her home.
Authorities say the victim was attacked by the two reptiles in Sarasota County, on Friday evening as she walked at the Boca Royale Golf and Country Club in Englewood.
The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office says the woman, who has not been named, was seen falling into the pond and “struggled to stay afloat.”
“While in the water, two alligators were observed near the victim and ultimately grabbed her while in the water,” said SCSO in a statement.
Officials say that the woman was pronounced dead at the scene and that two alligators, one 8 feet 10 inches and the other 7 feet 7 inches, have been captured and removed from the pond by trappers from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
It is the latest in a string of alligator attacks in the US this summer.
In May, the body of 47-year-old Sean McGuinness was found missing three limbs at a lake in a park in Largo, Florida.
Investigators believe he was attacked when he went into the lake at John S Taylor Park to try and fish out frisbees that had landed there from a nearby disc golf course to resell.
Park bosses told investigators that the victim was known to get into the lake despite “No Swimming” signs posted there.
Then on 24 June, an 11-foot alligator snatched and killed a victim at a pond at the Myrtle Beach Golf and Yacht Club in South Carolina.
Despite the recent incidents, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission says that the chance of being bitten by an alligator in Florida remains very low.
In 2021, the commission said the state averaged eight unprovoked bites a year that needed medical attention over the past decade.
“The likelihood of a Florida resident being seriously injured during an unprovoked alligator incident in Florida is roughly only one in 3.1 million,” the commission said.
And data shows that between 1948 and 2021 only 26 people have been killed by alligators in Florida.
