71-year-old man killed by 12-foot alligator near Florida lake

A 71-year-old man fishing on the shore of a Florida lake was killed by a nearly 12-foot alligator, according to police.

Steven Hamilton of Winter Garden was standing on the shore of Lake Apopka at Dr. Bradford Memorial Park, 24 kilometres northwest of Orlando, when he was attacked around 5 p.m. on Friday, the Winter Garden Police Department said in a news conference.

“The alligator was approximately 12-feet long and has been dispatched by FWC trappers,” Capt. Michael Mason of the Winter Garden Police Department said.

Police said they first responded to the lake area around approximately 5 p.m. local time on Friday.

When asked by reporters if the alligator had been “shot,” Mason said that the alligator was “removed as a danger to the public.”

Mason said authorities were not alerted in advance that an alligator was near the lake’s shore.

“Lake Apopka has tons of alligators in it,” Mason said. “So that’s not uncommon to see alligators in this part of town at all.”

Mason said that police launched a joint investigation with the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission.

He warned those in the area to be aware of their surroundings and respect wildlife.

“Keep your distance,” he said. “It looks like it’s docile, it looks like your Florida emblem, but it can be dangerous.”

Friday’s attack marks the second fatal alligator attack in Florida since June.

A 31-year-old Florida woman swimming in a river at Little Big Econ State Forest in Seminole County, Fla., died on June 28 after an alligator bit off one of her arms, according to the FWC.

During a press conference, the FWC said that it had received a phone call from Seminole County about a swimmer who had been bitten by an alligator.

“At that time, Seminole County, the FWC and the Department of Forestry responded to a 31-year-old female,” said Chad Weber, Public Information Officer for the FWC.

Weber said the woman had been bitten on both of her arms and that her boyfriend was the one who made the phone call to police.

“He was trying to get her from the alligator’s mouth,” Weber revealed. “On the way to the hospital she did pass away from her injuries.”

Alligators rarely bite people for reasons other than food, according to the FWC.

Female alligators may protect their nests by hissing and opening their mouths to frighten intruders but rarely bite people, the FWC notes.

According to the FWC’s statistics on alligator bites on people in Florida, there were 13 bites on people in 2025, with two of those being fatal.

—With files from The Associated Press