CLERMONT, Fla. -- Two men are behind bars in Lake County for beating an alligator to death with a golf club.

Residents of the Lake County community had become familiar with the alligator in their back yard. They're mostly British vacationers unaccustomed to being so close to the Florida wildlife. That's why they were so stunned when they saw it beaten to death before their eyes.

The stunt pulled by Michael Gaffney, 20, and Jeffrey Malott, 20, can be described in one word, senseless. It was considered senseless by the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, who arrested the men, and the residents who had to witness the killing of an alligator, who they say never acted aggressively.

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"[The gator is] well known here. It disappears into the brush and goes feeding and it comes back occasionally and it pretty much leaves everyone alone," said neighbor Gregory Buxton.

But eyewitnesses say the two landscapers went hunting for it. They finished their work and were hanging around the pond when they began throwing bread in the water as bait. When the six-foot gator came on shore, they beat it to death with a golf club, all in front of horrified neighbors begging them to stop.

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"They yelled numerous times for the guys to stop, but they continued on," said Sgt. John Herrell.

Deputies don't know if the men intended to use the gator for food or if they were just fooling around, but they say one thing is certain.

"It's unfortunate. All we can hope at this point is that these guys are held accountable for their actions," said Herrell.

"There's rules and regulations for it and there's no excuse for that. No excuse whatsoever," said neighbor Gregory Buxton.

The two men bonded out of the Lake County jail on $2,000 bond, but the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokesperson says the two men may face even more charges in the coming days related to how they lured the gator out of the pond.