Alligator mauls 13-year-old girl near boat ramp in Florida days after woman was dragged to her death by beasts | The Sun
A TEEN fought for her life when she saw a massive alligator rush toward her with its jaws open near a boat dock on Sunday.
The 13-year-old Tampa Bay girl said she struck the menacing gator before it latched onto her – days after an elderly woman was dragged to her death by one of the predators.
Briann Morr said she was swimming with friends at the Gardner Boat Ramp in Solfo Springs when the gator charged her.
"I turn around because I heard something go through the water, and the gator tried to grab my foot and I kicked my foot under the water," Briann told NBC 2.
The brave teen said she tried to swim away but was terrified when she saw it come back for more.
"I turned my head and I saw its mouth open and close on my arm and that's when I smacked it," Briann said.
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The teen sustained injuries from the brutal attack and was taken to the hospital by her mother Krystal.
Briann told NBC 2 that she was having trouble lifting her arm but doctors believe there is no permanent damage.
"I feel lucky to have my daughter," Krystal said.
"Right now we'd probably be planning a funeral if she didn't think so fast."
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The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has said they dispatched a nuisance alligator trapper to find the beast.
The Sun has reached out for any updates regarding its capture.
TRAGIC DEATH
This comes as a 911 call revealed an elderly man's desperate rescue attempt after a woman was killed by two alligators.
The 70-year-old pensioner risked his own life to save an elderly woman who fell into a canal near a golf course in Florida.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission identified the victim as 80-year-old Rose Marie Wiegand.
A 911 call seen by ABC7 shows that the man was playing the 6th hole at Boca Royale Golf and Country Club when he saw Wiegand fall in and tried to pull her out.
He then climbed ashore and called 911 pleading for help and told dispatch: "I just couldn't get to her. I tried."
Wiegand had attracted the reptiles when she fearfully splashed to stay afloat after falling into the basin.
The elderly woman struggled to stay above water, Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office said.
Witnesses confirmed two alligators were observed swimming toward Rose and grabbing her while she was in the water before she could swim to safety.
He told 911 he thought Wiegand had been trimming weeds around the water when the attack occurred and claimed he didn't initially see any alligators.
When advised by dispatch not to head into the water, he told them: "I've already been in the water".
Medical Examiner Dr. Russell Vega told ABC7 Wiegard died as a result of cervical spine dislocations and a bruised spinal cord and her death was ruled an accident.
Rose was pronounced dead at the scene.
Hugh Moore, who was Rose's neighbor for 15 years told YouSun: “She loved keeping up with the plants in her yard.
“She’s lived here for over 20 years. Even after her husband (Edward) died in 2020, she kept up with her yard.
"She was sad for a while, but her two daughters moved closer, and then she was happy again they were with her. She was kind and friendly.”
The Englewood Fire District established the incident occurred near Cayman Isle Boulevard and Golf View Drive at approximately 7:47 p.m on July 15.
A trapper from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission removed the alligators from the pond.
One was 8ft10in long, and the other was 7ft7in, it said.
GATOR TERROR
Alligators are typically found in Florida, Louisiana, and other southern states and have already taken the lives of multiple people in 2022.
On May 31, 2022, a 47-year-old man, later identified as Sean Thomas McGuinness, was found dead in John S. Taylor Park in Largo, Florida, with one arm torn off.
Paul Cozzie, the director of Parks and Conservation Resources in Pinellas County, told The New York Times that “he died as a result of an alligator attack,” which marked Florida's first fatal alligator attack since 2018.
A few weeks later, on June 26, Fox News reported that a South Carolina man was killed after an 11-foot alligator attacked him and pulled him into a retention pond.
These two deaths mark the first ones in 2022, but there have been several attacks in between.
While an exact number is unclear, there have been at least five attacks where people have survived.
This month, a six-year-old was bitten by an alligator during a family trip in Louisiana.
On June 22, Samuel Ray told WRAL that he was attacked by an alligator while playing catch near a pond in Florida.
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"It was about a foot away from the water," Ray said.
"And then as soon as I put my hand on the ball, I bent over and picked it up. That's when I saw the gator's eye. It lunged out, and it was so fast, it was like a lightning strike."
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