Steven Hamilton, loved fishing so much that he visited a pond in Florida almost every night. But on Friday, October 16, a fishing trip at Dr Bradford Memorial Park in Winter Garden turned fatal when an alligator attacked him. Here is what we know about him:
Who was Steven Hamilton?
Steven Hamilton, 71, of Winter Garden, Florida, was killed in an alligator attack on Friday. He was fishing at a retention pond near Lake Apopka, in Dr Bradford Memorial Park.
As per WESH, people in the area said he fished at the pond regularly. Park regular Connor Kelley said, “He was out there almost every single night fishing.”
Another regular, Jason Handley, said, “He was a regular that comes out here and fishes.”
Kelley, who had fished with Hamilton a few times, described him as kind and generous. “It just shows that he was a very kind man. Very relatable. I heard from someone else in town that he had helped her kids with fishing down there a few times,” Kelley said, as per WESH.
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What happened at the pond
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What happened at the pond
{{/usCountry}}According to a statement from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) obtained by PEOPLE, FWC and Winter Garden Police responded to reports of an alligator incident at around 5pm local time on Friday, October 16. When they arrived, they found that an adult male had been badly hurt after being bitten by an alligator while fishing in a pond. The man, later identified as Steven Hamilton, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Winter Garden police said Hamilton was fishing when the attack happened.
According to local outlet WKMG, Fire Chief Jose Gainza said the pond had several alligators. Because of this, Hamilton’s body stayed in the pond for about an hour before it could be safely recovered.
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Alligator removed from the park
As per PEOPLE, a contracted nuisance alligator trapper was sent to the area. The alligator, about 11 feet and 8 inches long, was removed from the park.
WESH reported that Handley saw the capture. “Yeah, he’s got him. He’s got him,” Handley said in a video he took of the capture on Friday.
Police Captain Michael Mason confirmed at a press conference that authorities have “removed” the animal that killed Hamilton.
“The FWC extends its deepest sympathies to the family and loved ones of the victim during this time,” an FWC spokesperson told PEOPLE. “This is an active investigation, and this is all the information available at this time.”
The Winter Garden Fire Department told PEOPLE, “The scene was turned over to FWC.”
Residents react
Emily Porto, who lives along Lake Apopka, told WESH she saw a news helicopter overhead on Friday and feared the worst. “I went on live, and it was there, and I said, ‘Oh no. That can’t be happening.’ And I warned them,” Porto said.
Porto said she has been calling FWC after her 8-year-old Samoyed, Stormi, was killed by an alligator in the lake last month. As per WESH, she shared a photo that she said shows Stormi in the gator’s mouth. She also showed recent calls she made to FWC’s nuisance alligator program.
She said a trapper was sent out after her dog was killed, but the gator responsible was not caught. Since then, she said, more alligators have been seen near her property and trappers have returned. Porto is calling for more action to remove alligators from the lake.
“They cannot, when I call, they cannot just tell me that, you know, any body of water in Florida, it can have a gator. I understand that. The gator took my dog off shore. The gator took the man yesterday off shore. They are hunting. So they are becoming very aggressive. They are fearless, and we have to care about people,” Porto said.