Florida Man Loses Arm to Alligator In Attack Outside Bar

A man in Florida lost an arm after being attacked by an alligator outside a local watering hole.

The victim, a 23-year-old man, was attacked early Sunday morning at a pond behind Banditos Bar in Port Charlotte, FL … according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

It sounds the like the incident could have been a lot worse … because a bar patron told local news outlet The Daily Sun he heard a man screaming in the darkness and rushed outside to look for him near the pond area, helping him to safety.

The Good Samaritan, local resident Manny Hidalgotold the outlet … “He was yelling and swimming toward the shoreline. I ran and dragged him up onto the sand. I was scared to get close to the water because it was dark out.”

Florida officials say the victim suffered “significant injuries” in the attack … and the Associated Press reports the man was airlifted to a hospital in Fort Myers, where his arm was amputated.

Wildlife officials say a nuisance alligator trapper was called and removed the 10.5-foot gator from the property .. the gator was then “humanely killed.”

Gators are known to attack in the sunshine state, where they are a dime a dozen. As we reported, an alligator at a retirement community in Fort Pierce killed an 85-year-old woman in February as she was walking her dog by the water’s edge.