Police: Alligator Attacks Homeless Man in Florida River

Police: Alligator Attacks Homeless Man in Florida River
File: Alligator in Florida (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
The Associated Press
9/19/2016
Updated:
9/19/2016

MELBOURNE, Fla.—Police in central Florida say an alligator attacked a homeless man who was swimming in a river.

Melbourne police Cmdr. Dan Lynch tells Florida Today the “alligator came up and grabbed” the man. He says officers were training in the area Monday morning when they heard the man screaming.

Lynch says the officers found him on the river bank with a number of deep punctures along his shoulder.

He was conscious but in pain when medics arrived to take him to the hospital. His condition was not immediately available.

Wildlife officials were called to the scene to search for the gator.

“He was in the river and an alligator came up and grabbed him. It grabbed him by the shoulder,” Cmdr. Dan Lynch of the Melbourne Police Department told the publication.

“The officers heard the screaming and found him on the bank of the river with significant gashes on his shoulder. We found him there on the shore,” Lynch added.

 

Epoch Times contributed to this report.