7-foot alligator invades neighborhood

SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, Fla. (WSVN) -- Wildlife officials have captured an alligator that invaded a South Florida neighborhood.

The 7-foot reptile was spotted in front of a home near Southwest 57th Court and 32nd Street, Thursday night. "We heard a scraping sound, and when we looked to the right, I thought it was an armadillo or something, and we saw the cat, and then we realized that it was an alligator," said homeowner Kathy Amiguet. "It moved from the street, then on my lawn, then on my porch, like it wanted to come into kitchen for dinner."

Amiguet and her son Joseph watched from a window in their home as the large reptile maneuvered through their yard. "I watch Animal Planet a lot and I watch about alligators, and it was pretty scary," said Joseph.

Some neighbors came out of their homes to snap pictures as wildlife officials' monitored the alligator after it parked itself on the front steps of a house. "I saw a huge alligator with a jaw that could eat my leg in one bite," said Isabella Motola. "I got super scared. I just ran away."

Miami-Dade Police and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials arrived at the scene to capture it. As authorities wrangled with it, it slid over the railing, hissed and jerked back and forth. "We get some kind of wildlife every once in a while. When the iguanas were still alive, they would come around, turtles and stuff, but never an alligator, never an alligator," said resident Magda Alfonso.

The gator rolled, tying itself up in the rope, until the rope snapped. Authorities pulled it out to the front yard, where it sat with the rope around its neck.

A wildlife official then sat on the alligator's back and clinched its jaws.

Residents believe the reptile came from a nearby canal. However, due to the alligator's large size, it will be killed.

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