Gator Kills 85-Year-Old FL Woman Walking Her Dog: Report

FORT PIERCE, FL — An 85-year-old woman was dragged into a lake and killed by a 10-foot alligator while walking her dog Monday at a Fort Pierce retirement community, according to multiple reports.

The gator attack happened just after noon at Spanish Lakes Fairways, a 55-plus living community. Both the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission and the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office responded to the 911 call.

The woman was walking her dog near the water when a gator tried to grab it, a resident told WPTV. She fought to keep her dog from the gator before the reptile killed her.

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Her body was recovered after the incident, according to reports. The dog survived the attack.

A nuisance alligator trapper was called to the scene by FWC to remove the gator from the water.

The gator is about 10 to 11 feet long and thought to weigh 600 to 700 pounds, reports said.

"He fought pretty good. Definitely fought pretty good," Robert Lilly, the trapper, told WPBF. "Snagged him on the bottom. He never surfaced. He stayed down the whole time. Got a second hook in him and then a hard line in him so we could get him up."

While some neighbors called the attack “shocking,” others told CBS 12 that gators are frequently seen in the retirement community.

"We count them, we stop and take pictures, as long as you don’t go near them," resident Bill Large said. "They move around at night; you’ll see them walking from pond to pond. We just have to be vigilant and watch out for them"