ASTOR, Fla. (WSVN) — A Florida deputy fatally shot an alligator with an AR-15 rifle after the reptile trapped a teenage girl in a tree.
According to a sheriff’s report obtained by the Orlando Sentinel, Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputy Mitch Blackmon was called to the scene after family members called 911 to describe how 15-year-old Jordan Broderick was trapped in a tree by a large gator for over 30 minutes.
“My daughter’s stuck in a frickin’ tree and there’s gators surrounding her!” the teenager’s mother could be heard saying in the 911 call. “Oh my God! Please hurry! Please hurry!”
Detectives said Jordan was in a raft in the water when the alligator quickly approached her. The teen was able to grab onto a branch and climb up a tree for safety as the reptile waited below.
Blackmon said when he responded to the scene, he heard the 10-foot gator loudly hissing at the base of the tree with the girl screaming above.
The deputy reportedly called Marine Units to trap the gator, but they were still 15 to 20 minutes away and the teen was becoming fatigued from holding herself up in the tree.
Ultimately, Blackmon decided to take matters into his own hands.
“My presence failed to scare the alligator away, and it began encroaching on my area at which time I fired one single 223 round from my Bushmaster AR-15 killing the alligator,” Blackmon wrote in his report.
Broderick was then helped down from the tree, and is expected to be OK.
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