BUSHNELL, Fla. — A Sumter County man is still recovering from an alligator attack.
He told deputies he thought the 8-foot gator was dead before it latched onto his leg in Bushnell.
Reginal Blanton was shocked Tuesday when he said the animal attacked his stepson, Jackie Hildreth.
“I was watching and I was like, ‘My God, he is going to walk right up on him,’ and that’s what he did,” Blanton said.
Hildreth was bitten on the leg.
One of his friends helped him escape from the alligator.
“He grabbed him and dragged him away from the gator. If (he) hadn’t, it would have been real bad,” said Blanton.
Blanton said when he came home, one of his horses was spooked and running around.
Blanton said he drove closer to the horse and spotted the gator.
“We got gators in all the ponds, but we didn’t think anything that big was around here,” said Blanton.
He said the gator was bothering his mini horses, so he had to take action.
“I shot four times, but I think I hit him three times, that’s what they told me, but I could see right then I couldn’t kill him, not with that 9 millimeter,” Blanton said.
Blanton said Hildreth has experience dealing with reptiles, so he called him for help.
But when Hildreth approached the alligator, it grabbed him.
“He fell backward when the gator grabbed him, and he turned him loose,” said Blanton.
Blanton called 911 and medical crews rushed Hildreth to the hospital while trappers killed the alligator.
Florida Fish and Wildlife will not charge Blanton for shooting the alligator.
“They told me I had the right to defend my property,” said Blanton.
FWC is still investigating.