A 71-year-old man was killed by a nearly 12-foot alligator on Friday while fishing along the shore of Lake Apopka in Winter Garden, near Orlando.
The victim, identified as Steven Hamilton, was attacked around 5 p.m. Emergency crews attempted to rescue him, but were unable to do so because other alligators were also in the water.
Hamilton's body was recovered by 7 p.m. The alligator that attacked him was subsequently trapped and killed, according to Winter Garden Police Chief Michael Mason.
The incident marks the second fatal alligator attack in Florida this year. In June, a 31-year-old woman was killed by an alligator near her home in Oviedo. Since 1948, a total of 34 people have been killed by alligators in the state, according to state data.
The Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission has expressed its sympathies to Hamilton's family and loved ones during this difficult time.
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