A Brief History
On June 14, 2016, Central Florida was rocked by its third horrific event within the past few days when an alligator snatched a 2 year old boy wading in shallow water at a Disney resort.
Digging Deeper
This horror comes on the heels of the shooting death of internet and Voice singing sensation Christina Grimmie on June 11 in Orlando and the Pulse nightclub massacre on June 12, also in Orlando.
After an intensive search, the body of the 2 year old Nebraska tot was found underwater, perhaps stashed by the gator to be eaten later, as is common practice of alligators. Florida alligators do not normally attack humans, as most people are bigger than the gators, but in the case of a small child the prehistoric reptile may see the toddler as appropriate sized prey. Alligators can exceed 15 feet in length and weigh nearly a ton, large enough to kill any person.
The 22 year old Grimmie was gunned down by a man who shot himself when Grimmie’s brother tackled him after the shooting, his motives unknown. Grimmie had been meeting with fans after a concert. The Pulse nightclub, a popular gay club, was the seen of the worst shooting incident in the US, with 49 victims shot to death and another 53 wounded, as well as the shooter, a self proclaimed Islamic terrorist, who was shot and killed by police.
In a bizarre twist, the night club shooter, Omar Mateen, may actually have been a closet homosexual who was lashing out at gay people due to some sort of personality disconnect about his own identity. In another sad side to that story, Mateen’s wife acknowledged knowing he was going to commit the act of terror and says she “tried to stop him,” apparently by talking him out of it, but failing to notify authorities or any other responsible person. She even admitted going with him to buy ammunition and case the night club! Police and prosecutors are considering the possibility of charging the wife with one or more crimes.
Some people claim bad things come in threes, and if so we hope this is the last of these tragedies for our friends in Central Florida. Our hearts are with the families of the victims of all three incidents.
Question for students (and subscribers): What do you think is the best way to honor the victims of these tragedies? Please let us know in the comments section below this article.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Fitzgerald, Patrick J. Croc and Gator Attacks (Animal Attack). Childrens Pr, 2000.
Garver, Lorie. Animals ATTACK! – Alligators. KidHaven Press, 2003.
Gilmore, David and Walter Parks. Alligator Attack! UnknownTruths Publishing, 2012.
