Florida Man Attacked by Alligator on His Front Porch: 'Just Got a Step Outside' Before It 'Grabbed Me'
A Florida man was attacked by an alligator right outside his own home over the weekend.
Police said the Daytona Beach resident was bitten around 9:30 p.m. on Saturday at his home near the LPGA International Golf Course, according to The Daytona Beach News-Journal and NBC affiliate WESH.
He opened the door after hearing a noise outside and "believing it was someone looking for his son," according to The Daytona Beach News-Journal, citing police.
"Went outside and didn't turn the light on and just got a step outside and something grabbed me on the leg, started shaking violently," the victim, Scott Hollingsworth, told WESH.
Hollingsworth said he originally thought a dog had bitten him, but later realized it was actually an alligator. He closed the door as he stepped back inside, where he got a look at the damage.
"[I] looked down, and I had a large gash in the side of my leg," he told WESH.
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Police said the victim "was bitten in the upper thigh," according to the News-Journal and Orlando Sentinel. Luckily, his injuries were not life-threatening.
Hollingsworth was transported to a local hospital following the incident, and later had surgery on his leg, per WESH.
"Fortunately, there's no damage to my knee, which I was concerned about," Hollingsworth told the outlet.
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Police said officers found the attacking alligator under a trailer near Hollingsworth's home before it was euthanized, according to the News-Journal.
State-certified trapper Curtis Lucas, who trapped the attacking alligator, said the animal was nearly eight feet long, per the outlet. Other reports suggest the alligator was upwards of nine feet in size.
Hollingsworth told CBS affiliate WKMG-TV that he enjoys animals, "but not that close."
"It was a little too up-close-and-personal for me," he told the outlet.
