A 12-year-old girl was attacked by a huge alligator as she played in shallow water in a North Carolina lake, according to authorities.
The unidentified girl was one of “multiple children playing” in four-feet-deep water in Lake Waccamaw on Friday when she suddenly screamed, “Something bit me!”
As all the kids ran for safety, a giant gator surfaced in the water where they had been playing, the Lake Waccamaw Police Department said of the terrifying incident.
The attacked girl’s injuries “were serious but not life-threatening in any way,” police said, stressing that it was not certain that she had been bitten, despite her cry.
“It is unclear as to if the injuries were caused by a bite, or a claw. But they were definitely caused by the alligator,”
Police initially estimated the gator to have been around seven feet. However, wildlife officials shared a photo of the captured attacker, saying it was around 12 feet long.
The alligator was euthanized as is protocol and the incident is being investigated by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC).
Wildlife experts say the alligator was not displaying normal behavior at the time and the girl had done nothing wrong.
“They very rarely get in the lake, especially during the daytime,” Alicia Wassmer, an alligator biologist with the NCWRC, told WECT.
Lake Waccamaw is home to some 600 alligators, but they normally stick to the murky waters of the canal, which runs through the town, and stay away from the lake itself.
“In that incident, that behavior that was displayed is very much associated with alligators that have been fed,” Wassmer said.
Feeding alligators is a felony in North Carolina, as it causes them to return to places such as piers and popular swimming spots.
“It can create issues like this down the road. Not necessarily for the person who’s feeding the alligator, but for other people.” Wassmer said.
The girl is known personally by Lake Waccamaw Mayor Matt Wilson, who said he rushed to the scene after hearing the news.
“A good friend of mine called me up and let me know the situation. I was over there about 30 minutes after that,” Wilson told WECT, as he issued a warning to visitors and residents in the area.
“There’s more and more people moving to Lake Waccamaw, houses are being built everywhere, and there’s more alligators,” he said.
“People are coming in, tourists are coming in, we need to educate people. Be mindful of your surroundings, do not feed the alligators, do not dump your table scraps from supper from the night before in the lake,” he added.
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