71-year-old killed in gator attack in Orange County, officials say

Fox - 35 Orlando
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1 Video View·Oct 18, 2026
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Video Summary
AI GeneratedA 71-year-old man, Stephen Hamilton, was killed by a 12-foot alligator while fishing at Dr. Bradford Memorial Park in Winter Garden. Local fishers report a high density of large alligators in the area and suggest that human feeding may have increased the animals' aggression. The alligator responsible for the attack has been captured.
This is the 12-foot gator police believe attacked
and killed a 71-year-old man who was fishing on a pond.
Tonight, one man who often fishes there tells us
the water is full of gators.
Thanks for joining us. I'm Manny Martinez.
And I'm Larissa Leon. This all happened last night
at Dr. Bradford Memorial Park in Winter Garden.
Fox 35's Chris Lindsey is live there now with more. Chris.
Yes, I spoke with people who are fishing here
who say they constantly see gators in the water.
today when they stopped by they were emotional
as they reflected on what happened just yesterday
Jason Handley says
when he visits this winter garden park to fish he stays on high alert
because of the alligators every time i come here i see
at least four or five of them without a
doubt and they are bigger than me the fwc says
on friday another fisherman 71 year old stephen
hamilton was attacked
and killed by a 12 foot gator handley says he would see hamilton from
time to time while out on the lake seemed like
a really good guy. He was always happy,
always loved to fish. He was down here on like a daily basis.
This has not been confirmed by
officials, but Handley thinks people have
been feeding the alligators lately as they seem to
have lost their fear of humans
and become more aggressive than he's used to. The alligator
believed responsible for Friday's attack was captured.
Sadly, this is only the most recent
Gator attack. Back in June,
a woman was attacked at Little Big Econ State Park. She was killed.
That's in Seminole County.
In this instance, investigators are still looking into what
happened. Reporting live, Chris Lindsey, Fox 35 News.
