Man Arrested After Shooting Alligator That Was Attacking His Step-Son

By George

BUSHNELL, Fla. (WFLA) — Family and friends are shocked by the arrest of a 74-year-old Sumter County man after he shot and killed an alligator that attacked his stepson.

The Sumter County Sheriff’s Office reports Reginald Blanton shot the alligator twice with a handgun. He discovered his horses acting strangely and spotted the large gator near them. Blanton’s stepson, 58-year-old Jack Hildreth, then approached the alligator.

Blanton contends he was just protecting his horses. “I took my gun with me when I went out there because I didn’t know what the hell was out there,” he said.

When he saw the alligator just a few feet away from his horses, Blanton took his 9mm handgun and shot it. “I shot at him four times, and they said I hit him three,” he said. His stepson then arrived and got about eight feet away from the alligator when it suddenly attacked. “Whenever he raised up after my stepson, it looked like he was shot out of a cannon. I had never seen nothing like it,” Blanton said.

Hildreth says he couldn’t see anything but teeth. “It was a burst of lighting like. It was just a surprise,” Hildreth said.

He said he assumed the alligator …Read the Rest

Source:: Patriot Outdoor News