MYRTLE BEACH, South Carolina — A person was killed after being grabbed by an alligator at a retention pond and dragged into the water, authorities say.
A news release from the Horry County Police Department says the attack occurred at about 11:45 a.m. Friday at the pond at a housing development near Myrtle Beach. The victim reportedly was near the edge of the pond when the alligator attacked.
The unidentified victim was removed from the water and the alligator was found and euthanized at the scene, authorities say.
It’s estimated that about 100,000 alligators live in South Carolina, with most living in the “low country” of the state. The fatal attack Friday was the first in South Carolina since May 2020, the New York Times reports.
According to the Times, fatal alligator attacks in the U.S. are rare, averaging about one per year. However, a man in Florida was killed last month when he was attacked while retrieving frisbees from a lake in Largo, Fla.
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