A Florida teen climbed a tree to escape the jaws of a 9-foot alligator after floating on a raft in Freak Creek in the Ocala National Forest over the July 4th weekend. Thanks to a Lake County Sheriff, the 15-year-old girl lived to tell her frightening story.
According to NbcNews, Jordan Broderick had been floating on the raft when the alligator approached her. The teen was unable to reach the shore and quickly climbed a tree screaming for her family to call 9-1-1.
“My daughter’s stuck in a freaking tree! There’s gators surrounding her. We can’t get her out,” Jordan’s mother told a 9-1-1 dispatcher.”
Lake County Sheriff Deputy Mitch Blackmon rushed out to the scene and found the girl’s location by her frantic screams. One alligator was at the base of the tree hissing, and as the deputy came closer, the alligator turned towards him. Blackmon fatally shot the gator in the head as it headed back to the water. Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation officers later found the animal’s dead body.
The alligator had been a female and her nest nearby. She had been guarding her young and are known to be aggressive and territorial at this time. Alligators do not generally attack humans.
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So why-the-F*CK did this “deputy” SHOOT this protective mother… AS SHE WAS RETURNING TO THE WATER, TO CONTINUE PROTECTING HER YOUNG???
Is he F … NUTS? This is a serious CRIME!!! There must be CONSEQUENCES!!!
Glad the girl is okay, but why kill the alligator? She was just protecting her eggs, and the humans were in her territory, not the other way around.