Steven Hamilton, 71, was killed Friday by a nearly 12-foot alligator while fishing at Lake Apopka's Dr. Bradford Memorial Park. This incident represents the second fatal alligator attack in Florida during 2026.
The 12-foot predator at Dr.. Bradford Memorial Park
The attack occurred around 5 p.m. on Friday while Steven Hamilton of Winter Garden was fishing on the shoreline, according to the Winter Garden Police Department. The reptile, measuring nearly 12 feet, struck Hamilton in an area located approximately 15 miles northwest of Orlando. Following the attack, trappers from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission captured and killed the animal.
The rescue effort was severely hampered by the presence of other predators in the vicinity. Winter Garden Fire Chief Jose Gainza told FOX35 that emergency crews were unable to immediately rescue Hamilton because other alligators were also in the water. his body was eventually recovered by 7 p.m., roughly two hours after the initial strike.
A pattern of fatalities from Brittany Clark to Cynthia Diekema
The death of Steven Hamilton follows a string of high-profile alligator encounters that underscore the volatility of Florida's waterways. In June 2026, 31-year-old Brittany Clark of Oviedo was killed by a 13-foot alligator near her home in an attack involving a "death roll," as reported by FOX35. This follows the May 2025 death of 61-year-old Cynthia Diekema, who was killed after an alligator tipped her out of her canoe.
These incidents are part of a long-term statistical trend in the state. According to Florida state data, the two deaths in 2026 bring the total number of people killed by alligators in Florida since 1948 to 34. Other recent attacks include an 85-year-old widow dragged from her backyard in 2023 and a woman who lost an arm during a Silver River attack.
Rep. Greg Steube’s push to re-evaluate "threatened" status
The frequency of these attacks has prompted political intervention regarding how the American alligator is classified. Republican U.S. Rep. Greg Steube has introduced a resolution requesting that the U.S. Department of the Interior and the Comptroller General study the impacts of the species' listing as "threatened." Steube argues that this classification, intended to prevent the trafficking of the similar-looking American crocodile, hinders the ability of officials to remove nuisance alligators from commercial and residential areas.
Steube contends that the American alligator species has been fully recovered since 1987. The current legal framework creates a paradox where a recovered species remains under protections that may prioritize the animal's presence in human-populated waterways over public safety.
Rosie Moore’s drought theory and the Lake Apopka warning gap
Environmental factors may be driving the increase in human-alligator conflicts. Crocodile expert Rosie Moore has suggested that drought conditions in Florida could be forcing alligators into closer proximity with humans as water sources shrink, increasing the likelihood of encounters.
However, significant questions remain regarding the adequacy of public warnings at high-risk sites . police Capt. Michael Mason noted that authorities were not alerted to the presence of an alligator near the shoreline before Steven Hamilton was attacked, potentially because Lake Apopka contains "tons of alligators." This suggests a gap in real-time monitoring and communication for visitors at Dr. Bradford Memorial Park, leaving residents to rely on general awareness rather than specific, site-based alerts.
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