How many people have been killed by alligators in Florida? The number may surprise you

Florida is a state well-known for its alligators, which inhabit many of the state’s swamps and wetlands.

Despite their cute appearance, these animals are incredibly dangerous. While they rarely bite people, they may do so for food, as they’re opportunistic feeders.

Since 1948, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has recorded over 450 alligator bites on people in the state, with 30 of them being fatal.

The FWC has attacks listed through 2022, though there were two attacks last year in Florida — one in Largo and another in Fort Pierce.

Two of the strangest attacks involved cases from 2007 and 2019. In both cases, the victim was killed by an alligator while trying to evade police in local waterways.

Certain lakes in Florida also present more risk than others, with Lake Okeechobee and Orange Lake being the most gator-infested in the state.

Below is a list of all fatal alligator bites in Florida and how they happened.

Year Name Age Location Size of Alligator Manner of Death 1973 Sharon Holmes 16 Oscar Scherer Park

Sarasota County 11 feet, 3 inches Killed while swimming in the lake. 1977 George Leonard 52 Peace River Canal

Charlotte County 7 feet Seized on the arm while swimming in the canal.

He died three days later of complications. 1978 Phillip Rastrelli 14 Hidden River Canal

Martin County 11 feet Killed while swimming across the canal off Bessie Creek. 1984 Robert Crespi 11 Unnamed Canal

St. Lucie County 12 feet, 4 inches Killed while swimming in the canal. 1985 Paul Mirabito 27 Wellington C27 Canal

Palm Beach County Unrecorded Killed while swimming in the canal. 1987 George Cummings III 29 Wakulla River

Wakulla County 11 feet Killed while snorkeling in the river. 1988 Erin Glover 4 Hidden Lake

Charlotte County 10 feet, 7 inches Killed while standing at the water’s edge. 1993 Bradley Weidenhamer 10 Loxahatchee River

Martin County 11 feet, 4 inches Killed while wading in the river at Jonathan Dickinson

State Park. 1993 Grace Eberhart 70 Lake Serenity

Sumter County Unknown Found dead at the lake. Cause of death was determined

to caused by an alligator, and several were removed. 1997 Adam Binford 3 Lake Ashby

Volusia County 11 feet Killed while playing along the lake shore. 2001 Samuel Wetmore 70 Unnamed pond

Sarasota County 8 feet, 4 inches Found dead at a pond near his home in Venice. 2001 Alexandria Murphy 2 Lake Cannon

Polk County 6 feet, 6 inches Found dead at the lake. 2001 Robert Steele 82 Unnamed wetland

Lee County 10 feet, 9 inches Killed while walking his dog along the water’s edge near

his home in Sanibel on Sept. 11. 2003 Brian Griffin 12 Dead River

Lake County 10 feet, 4 inches Killed while swimming near a boat ramp. 2004 Janie Melsek 54 Unnamed pond

Lee County 12 feet, 3 inches Seized by an alligator while landscaping near the water’s

edge. Died of complications from the bite afterward. 2004 Michelle Reeves 20 Lee Memorial Health Park

Lee County 7 feet, 11 inches Killed while swimming in a retention pond. 2005 Donald Owen 56 Six Pound Pond

Polk County 9 feet, 8 inches Found dead at the pond near Lakeland. 2005 Kevin Murray 41 Unnamed Canal

Charlotte County 12 feet, 2 inches Killed while swimming at the canal in Port Charlotte. 2006 Yovoy Suarez-Jimenez 28 North New River Canal

Broward County 9 feet, 6 inches Found dead along the canal in Sunrise. 2006 Judy Cooper 42 East Lake Woodlands

Pinellas County 9 feet, 6 inches Found dead in an unnamed canal in Oldsmar. 2006 Annmarie Campbell 23 Ocala National Forest

Lake County 11 feet, 5 inches Killed while snorkeling in Juniper Run. 2007 Justo Padron 36 Miccosukee Indian Reservation

Miami-Dade County 9 feet, 4 inches Killed while trying to evade police by swimming across a

pond at the reservation. 2015 James Okkerse 61 Blue Spring Run

Volusia County 12 feet, 6 inches Killed while snorkeling in Orange City. 2016 Lane Graves 2 Seven Seas Lagoon

Orange County 7-8 feet Killed while playing along the shoreline. Two alligators

were removed. 2018 Shizuka Matzuki 47 Silver Lakes Rotary Nature Park

Broward County 12 feet, 4 inches Killed while walking her dogs along the water’s edge of

an unnamed lake. 2019 Jardan Battle 31 Retention Pond

Lee County 10 feet, 3 inches Killed while trying to evade police by swimming across

the pond in Fort Myers. 2022 Sean McGuiness 49 Taylor Park

Pinellas County 8-10 feet Killed while retrieving golf frisbees. Two alligators were

removed. 2022 Rose Weigand 80 Boca Royale Golf Course Community

7 feet, 7 inches Killed while gardening at her home. Two alligators were

removed. 2023 Sabrina Peckham 41 Local waterway

Pinellas County 13 feet, 8 inches Found dead in a nearby waterway. Remains were recovered

by deputies. 2023 Gloria Serge 85 Spanish Lakes Fairways

St. Lucie County 10 feet Her dog was attacked while on a walk. She was pulled into

the water while trying to rescue the dog.

The best way to keep safe from an alligator attack is to avoid them entirely.

To keep safe from alligator attacks, the University of Florida offers these tips:

Don’t feed wild alligators (it’s illegal) : It can make the gators associate humans with food and lose their natural fear of people.

Don’t throw fish scraps in trash cans : Such scraps can unintentionally attract gators looking for an easy snack.

Follow directions on signs : Don’t go swimming anywhere outside of posted swimming areas.

Swim during daylight hours : Alligators are most active at night, so daytime is probably a safer option.

Keep an eye on children and pets: Never allow small children to play unattended near the water and avoid letting your pets too close to the shoreline, as they may resemble the reptiles’ natural prey.

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