Alligator vs. Woman: 24-Year-Old Wrestles Reptile While Being Dragged Underwater

A 24-year-old woman fought off an alligator after the predator attacked and tried to drag her underwater in Florida’s Lake Hernando on Wednesday. The homeless woman, identified as Felicitie Gillette, was swimming in the Citrus County lake when the incident took place.

According to a statement from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the 5- to 6-foot alligator grabbed the woman by her left arm and attempted to drag her underwater. She was able to fight off the alligator and escaped with only minor injuries. After freeing herself from the alligator, Gillette called 911 and was later taken to Ocala Regional Medical Center.

“It came up out of nowhere and attacked,” Gillette said in a frantic 911 call released to People magazine by the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office. “I’m freaking out.”

WFTS reporter Ryan Smith later tweeted a video of an alligator with its head just above the surface of the lake. He mentioned the video was from a few weeks ago.

“They fear it’s being fed, leading it to act aggressive near public beach,” Smith said, referring to the authorities.

Following the latest attack, trappers mounted a search to look for the gator. The beach around the lake has also been closed until the reptile was found.

Wednesday’s attack comes just days after a 45-year-old kindergarten teacher, Cassandra Cline, was killed by an alligator while walking her dog alongside a lagoon on South Carolina’s Hilton Head Island. An 8-foot alligator attacked Cline and pulled her underwater. Officials believe she was protecting her dog when she was attacked.

“I cannot make any sense of what’s happened. None at all. She would never go near an alligator, she would never irritate an alligator,” Cline’s mother, Julia Meza, said in an interview with Today after the tragedy. “I just keep thinking about her being dragged away by that. I just, I just can’t imagine it.”

Alligator sightings are common in Florida and there have been several instances when these reptiles were seen lurking in residential neighborhoods. However, it is rare for humans to come in such close contact with a gator. About one-quarter of the estimated 5 million American gators living in southeastern United States are found in Florida.

In July, a massive alligator chased a girl up a tree in Lake County, Florida, and was later fatally shot by a deputy who arrived at the scene to rescue the 15-year-old. The 10-foot-long alligator cornered the girl and was waiting for an hour for her to come down the tree.

In another incident in June, police in Florida said a missing woman was believed to have been dragged into a pond by an alligator. The woman was reportedly walking her dogs near a pond in Davie, Florida, before she disappeared.