A fisherman proudly showed off his catch on the shoreline of a central Florida alligator-infested lake– before he was savaged by the 12-foot predator and submerged in the water.
Steven Hamilton, 71, was a daily fisher on the banks of Lake Apopka – and he couldn’t hide his glee when he reeled in a bass on Friday evening, seconds before the horrific attack.
“He held it up for whoever it was to take a picture of him, and the gator came up and grabbed him by the leg and pulled him in, ” Beatrice Soto, who watched the attack at Dr. Bradford Memorial Park unfold, told WFTV.
Hamilton, who was also a popular musician, suffered “blunt force” injuries to his left leg before being submerged in the lake, Orange-Osceola Medical Examiners said, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
The gator then brought his victim back to the surface before submerging him again.
Winter Garden native Hamilton drowned, with coroners describing his death as accidental. Suspected teeth marks were also found on the fisherman’s left leg.
The amount of alligators in the lake complicated the recovery effort.
It wasn’t until 7 p.m. Friday – two hours after the attack – until his body was recovered from the lake, which has more than 4,600 alligators.
The gator, which measured just under 12 feet, was trapped and killed, according to the Florida Wildlife Commission.
Hamilton’s death marks the second fatal alligator attack in Florida this year.
In June, Brittany Clark, 31, was swimming with her boyfriend in the Econlockhatchee River at Little Big Econ State Forest, central Florida, when she was attacked.
The attack resulted in the “near complete traumatic amputations” of her left arm and she had teeth marks on her left shoulder blade and collarbone,
Coroners ruled that she died from the multiple blunt force injuries she sustained, ruling the manner of her death an accident.
Between 1948 and 2025, the Sunshine State had seen 32 fatal alligator attacks, according to FWC data.
Alligators are found in all 67 counties in Florida and the state is home to an estimated 1.3 million gators.
The Post has approached the medical examiners office for comment.
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