18-06-2025
North Carolina girl, 12, attacked by an alligator while playing in shallow water
A young girl was attacked by an alligator while swimming in the shallow waters of a North Carolina lake.
Lake Waccamaw Police said that multiple children were playing in about four feet of water on Friday when one shouted, 'Something bit me!'
All the children rushed out of the lake, and an alligator, between six and seven feet long, surfaced from the water.
Lake Waccamaw Mayor Matt Wilson told WECT he knows the 12-year-old girl who was attacked.
'A good friend of mine called me up and let me know the situation. I was over there about 30 minutes after that,' he said.
Authorities noted that the injuries sustained were serious but not life-threatening in any way.
'It is also unclear as to if the injuries were caused by a bite or a claw. But they were definitely caused by the alligator,' the police department said.
Police, along with the members of the NC Wildlife Resources Commission, were able to capture and euthanize the alligator responsible for the attack.
'The alligator responsible for this incident has been neutralized,' Lake Waccamaw police said.
Alicia Wassmer, an expert alligator biologist with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, told WBTW that alligator attacks are rare.
'Although the alligator's behavior was unusual, it was not predatory in nature,' Wassmer said.
'Anytime an alligator makes contact with a person, our protocol is to euthanize it regardless of the circumstances.
'Our officers responded quickly and worked with the community to identify and dispatch the alligator.'
The mayor warned that as the town continues to develop, community members need to be cautious of the alligators.
'People are coming in, tourists are coming in, we need to educate people,' the mayor said.
'There's more and more people moving to Lake Waccamaw, houses are being built everywhere, and there's more alligators.
'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.'
