`Gator grabs 2 yr. old at Disney in Orlando

[waltky]

First the Grimmie killing, then the Pulse nightclub attack, and now this...

Alligator drags toddler into lagoon at Disney resort in Orlando
15 Jun 2016 - As many as 50 rescuers were still searching the waters at a lake near Orlando's Disney World for the two-year-old toddler.

Police in Florida hunted on Wednesday (Jun 15) for a 2-year-old boy who was dragged by an alligator into a lagoon at Walt Disney World in front of his family hours earlier, despite the parents' efforts to rescue their child. The boy was attacked by the reptile about 9.15pm on Tuesday at the Seven Seas Lagoon at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa in Lake Buena Vista near Orlando, the Orange County Sheriff's Office said.and Spa in Lake Buena Vista, the Orange County Sheriff's Office said.

The boy was playing in the water while his family, vacationing from Nebraska, relaxed on the shore nearby, Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings told a news conference. "The father entered the water and tried to grab the child and was not successful," Demings said. The mother also tried to rescue the boy and the father suffered hand injuries, he added. The family has not been named. "As a father, as a grandfather we are going to hope for the best in these circumstances but, based on my 35 years of law enforcement experience, we know we have some challenges ahead of us," Demings told reporters.

He said the animal was thought to be between 4 and 7 feet (1.2 and 2 meters) long. Wildlife and marine officials were drafted into the search, which ran through the night. "We're putting every effort into locating the child and trapping this alligator," Florida Fish and Wildlife Officer Chad Weber told reporters. A spokeswoman for Walt Disney World Resort said everyone there was devastated by the tragic accident. "Our thoughts are with the family and we are helping the family," she said.

The upscale resort is located near the monorail line near the Magic Kingdom Park. The man-made lagoon where the incident occurred is surrounded by a beach and several outdoor pools. On May 28, a 3-year-old boy fell into a gorilla enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo, causing zookeepers to kill a gorilla to protect the child.

Alligator drags toddler into lagoon at Disney resort in Orlando

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Disney steps up security in wake of Orlando massacre
Wednesday 15th June, 2016 - "Unfortunately, we've all been living in a world of uncertainty, and during this time we have increased our security measures across our properties, adding such visible safeguards as magnetometers, additional canine units and law enforcement officers on site, as well as less visible systems that employ state-of-the-art security technologies," Disney spokesperson Jacquee Wahler said in a statement.

Authorities have said they were trying to confirm whether gunman Omar Mateen had scouted the park in Orlando, Florida, as well as other locations before his rampage at the Pulse nightclub on Sunday that left 49 people dead and 53 wounded. Citing a law enforcement source, People Magazine reported earlier that Mateen's wife - Noor Zahi Salman - told investigators that the couple had recently visited Walt Disney World as a potential target. "Salman told federal authorities on Sunday that her husband had more recently been 'scouting Downtown Disney and Pulse for attacks'," the magazine said.

A Disney manager in Florida told AFP that Mateen had visited the park in April. Disney has two theme parks in the United States, one in California and one in Florida. The company in December had announced new security measures at the two parks following the terror attacks in San Bernardino, California, and in Paris. Joined by several other popular theme parks, including Universal Studios, it said at the time that it was banning toy guns, adding metal detectors and bringing in specially trained dogs to patrol key areas.

Disney steps up security in wake of Orlando massacre