Father of toddler killed at Disney resort says two alligators were involved

The distraught father of a 2-year-old boy dragged off and killed by an alligator at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida last month has said he was attacked by a second alligator as he fought to save his son. Matt Graves was en route to a hospital for treatment on injuries he sustained while trying to save his son when he shared “the horror that he experienced” as his son was being pulled into the water and “how another gator attacked him as he fought”, fire captain Tom Wellons wrote in the email. A witness also said he had seen a second alligator attack the father. Trappers killed and opened up five alligators the day after the attack before the boy’s body was found underwater and recovered intact.

This incredibly sweet couple insisted on showing us pictures of their happy son. (The) mom kept referring to him as her ‘happy boy’.

Cpt Tom Wellons

Assistant Chief Stan Paynter forwarded the email to Orange County officials to alert them about a second alligator. The little boy, Lane Graves, was killed in the Seven Seas Lagoon at Walt Disney World’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa after being dragged off in shallow waters. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials have said they’re “confident” they caught the alligator that killed Lane. Walt Disney has had more than 240 “nuisance” alligators captured and killed over the past 10 years at its Florida theme park property, according to state records.

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