Alligator Attacks Homeless Woman Swimming in Florida Lake

A homeless woman was reportedly attacked by an alligator at a Florida lake, said officials on Aug. 22.

Felicitie Gillette, 24, was swimming in Lake Hernando in Citrus County at around 1 a.m. when the gator grabbed her arm and tried to drag her into the water, according to WFTS-TV.

She was able to defend herself against the alligator and called 911. Officials transported her to a nearby hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, and she was later released.

“It came up out of nowhere and attacked,” Gillette told dispatchers in a 911 call, ABC News reported. When she was asked by the dispatcher if she was bit, the woman replied, “Yes, sir.”

“I’m freaking out,” she added to dispatchers.

WFTS reported that the alligator is believed to be five or six feet in length. The Florida Wildlife Commission and Citrus County Sheriff’s Office are working to capture the animal.

The public beach access point at Lake Hernando was closed after the attack, according to the WFTS report.

“The alligator was on the hunt,” said Dennis Weis, a local man, to the station. “You could tell by the aggressive movements by the alligator.”

A parent who spoke to Fox13 said that they’re rethinking allowing their children to swim in Lake Hernando.

“I don’t think I’ll let them swim for a while until I know the gator is gone,” parent Brandy Dugan told the station.

Law enforcement with Sea Pines Security, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, and the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office stand near where authorities say Cassandra Cline was dragged into a lagoon by an alligator and killed while trying to save her dog on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina on Aug. 20, 2018. Drew Martin/The Island Packet via AP

Second Attack in Days

The reported attack comes a few days after a South Carolina woman was attacked and killed by a gator while she was walking her dog.

“When they arrived, fire personnel located the deceased woman inside of the lagoon and recovered her body, while deputies interviewed witnesses. Witness accounts indicate that the woman—who will be identified after her next of kin are notified—was walking her dog near the lagoon when she was attacked and pulled underwater by the alligator,” the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office stated on Aug. 20.

The woman was later identified as Cassandra Cline, 45, and she had been walking her pet border collie when the gator attacked.

The 8-foot-long alligator was captured after the fatal incident and was killed, David Lucas, a spokesman for the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, confirmed, according to a previous report from The Epoch Times.

“She was walking the dog near the lagoon and the alligator came out of the water and tried to get the dog,” Lucas said. “The lady tried to rescue the dog and a maintenance worker ran over to help.”

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Alligator attacks on humans are extremely rare, Lucas said. Since 1976, there have only been about 20 attacks on people in the state, he said. Until 2016, none of those attacks had been fatal. That year, a 90-year-old woman wandered away from a Charleston assisted living facility and was found dead in a pond.

An autopsy on Cline will be done in the coming days at the Medical University of South Carolina to confirm the cause of her death.

The dog she was trying to protect survived, officials said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.