LEESBURG DAILY COMMERCIAL (Florida) 19 August 03 Alligator bites Lake County boy (Michelle L. Start)
Wildwood: Nearly two months after a Fruitland Park boy was killed by an alligator, another Lake County boy was attacked.
Vincent Johnston, 5, of Leesburg was swimming in a lake Sunday near Northeast 49th Lane in Wildwood when he was pulled under the water, according to Sumter County Sheriff’s Lt. Bobby Caruthers.
“When he came up, he stated that an alligator bit him,” Caruthers said.
Vincent, who was wearing a life jacket, popped back to the surface after the alligator grabbed him, according to police reports.
“He had bit marks on the top part of his right foot,” Caruthers said. “His mother applied cold water and pressure.” Fish and Wildlife Lt. Tom Goodhue said it appeared that the attack had been accidental.
“A contributing factor might have been the dog that was playing back and forth. I suspect the gator came up and was waiting for the dog to come back there,” he said. “He released the boy, which is typical of an accidental bite.”
Vincent was taken to Leesburg Regional Medical Center where he was treated for 4 centimeter cut on the top of his foot and a 2 centimeter cut on both the top and bottom of his foot, according to Caruthers.
Fish and Wildlife officials were called in to trap the alligator.
By Monday afternoon, two alligators in that area had been trapped and killed and officials were trying to capture a third one. The two alligators that had been captured were both about 81/2 feet long.
“There’s a lot of gators out there,” Caruthers said. It was the first time in 10 years that Sumter County officials were called out to deal with an aggressive alligator, according to Caruthers.
He said the last attack occurred when an alligator in a pond killed a woman at the Continental Country Club.
However, the attack came almost two months to the day after an alligator killed Bryan Griffin, 12, of Fruitland Park. On June 19, he was swimming with two friends in the Dead River Canal when an alligator apparently dragged him underwater for about 20 minutes.
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