Per TheBlaze:
The girl, Jordan Broderick, clung to a tree branch nearly to the point of exhaustion until a sheriff’s deputy showed up and made quick work of the gator, saving the girl’s life.
Before the officer arrived, however, there was a half an hour of panic as Broderick’s family feared for her life and frantically communicated with 911 dispatch.
...
Finally, Lake County Sheriff’s Deputy Mitch Blackmon was the first to arrive on the scene. When he got there, he knew exactly what to do.
“I fired one single .223 round from my Bushmaster AR-15, killing the alligator,” Blackmon wrote on the incident report.
Before the officer arrived, however, there was a half an hour of panic as Broderick’s family feared for her life and frantically communicated with 911 dispatch.
...
Finally, Lake County Sheriff’s Deputy Mitch Blackmon was the first to arrive on the scene. When he got there, he knew exactly what to do.
“I fired one single .223 round from my Bushmaster AR-15, killing the alligator,” Blackmon wrote on the incident report.
A spokesman for Miami-Dade Zoological Park and Gardens said the unprovoked attacked came at the end of mating season, a time when the already dangerous predators become extremely aggressive.
