The death of a Winter Garden fisherman was Florida’s second reported fatal alligator encounter in less than four months.
WINTER GARDEN, Fla. — The fatal alligator attack on a 71-year-old fisherman near Lake Apopka is bringing renewed attention to Florida’s efforts to manage encounters between people and an estimated 1.3 million alligators living across the state.
Steven Hamilton of Winter Garden was fishing from the shoreline at Dr. Bradford Memorial Park on Friday when a nearly 12-foot alligator attacked him, according to local police and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Emergency crews recovered his body from the water about two hours later. A trapper captured and killed an 11-foot, 8-inch alligator believed to have been responsible.
Hamilton’s death was the second reported fatal alligator attack in Florida this year. Brittany Clark, 31, of Orlando died in June after an encounter with an alligator while swimming in the Econlockhatchee River in Seminole County. Wildlife officials investigated that attack and removed large alligators from the area.
Despite those deaths, serious attacks remain rare in a state where people and alligators frequently share the same freshwater environments. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission estimates the state’s alligator population at about 1.3 million. The reptiles are found in all 67 counties and inhabit lakes, ponds, rivers, marshes and other wetlands where food and shelter are available.
The state manages conflicts in developed areas in part through its Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program. Under the program, contracted trappers are sent to address animals that residents believe pose threats to people, pets or property. The wildlife commission generally considers an alligator at least 4 feet long a potential nuisance when a caller believes it presents such a threat, though smaller animals can also be removed in some circumstances.
Wildlife officials say nuisance alligators generally are not relocated. The commission says relocated animals can attempt to return to the places where they were captured, potentially creating additional conflicts along the way. Remote areas that could receive relocated animals also tend to have established alligator populations already. The state instead uses removal as part of a broader management system intended to protect public safety while maintaining a stable wild population.
The commission has also expanded public-awareness efforts as Florida’s population has grown and development has placed more residents near freshwater habitat. Its GatorWise campaign, introduced with other wildlife agencies in the Southeast, emphasizes that alligators may be present in nearly any suitable Florida waterway even when none can be seen from shore.
State records show that fatal alligator encounters have remained uncommon over the decades, although each death prompts scrutiny because of the large number of people who live and recreate near Florida waterways. At least 34 people have been killed in alligator attacks in the state since 1948, according to figures cited in reporting based on Florida wildlife data.
Friday’s attack occurred at a city park where fishing is an established activity and where ponds connect with Lake Apopka, a large Central Florida lake with a substantial alligator population. Winter Garden police Capt. Michael Mason said authorities had not received a specific report of an alligator at the pond before the attack, while noting that seeing alligators in the wider area is common.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and Winter Garden police continue to investigate Hamilton’s death. Authorities have not released findings indicating why the alligator approached Hamilton or identified any specific condition that triggered the attack.
Author note: Last updated October 17, 2026.