"Unfortunately, this young man is going to learn a very expensive lesson," Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood said
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/baby-alligator-813-04072026-10537b1b826e44e9aa65f29a8c8b136f.jpg "A person holding a small alligator closeup view of the reptiles head and upper body")
Credit: getty
NEED TO KNOW
- A 14-year-old boy was arrested for allegedly swinging and kicking a baby alligator at the Stetson Aquatic Center in Florida
- The teen was booked into the Volusia Sheriff’s Office Juvenile Resource Center and faces a felony charge for harming wildlife
- Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood said, “Abusing wildlife is not a way to spend your downtime”
Volusia Sheriff’s Office (VSO) deputies allegedly found a 14-year-old boy abusing a baby alligator in DeLand, Fla. on Friday, April 3.
The teen was with a group at the Stetson Aquatic Center, hanging out by the docks. He was then seen swinging the animal by its tail over his head, kicking it and kicking dirt onto it, as a Stetson University public safety officer watched it happen live on security camera footage.
The public safety officer reported it to the VSO deputies, ClickOrlando reports. During the alleged incident, another child took photos, while the other teens were fishing, they told VSO deputies, Fox 35 reports. Additionally, the boy placed the alligator back in the water, but when more children came over, he took the animal out again.
Upon their arrival at the Stetson Aquatic Center, the teen was arrested for allegedly possessing or harming an alligator without approval from the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, a level 4 felony, according to the arrest affidavit, Fox 35 reports. The 14-year-old was booked into the VSO Juvenile Resource Center, according to ABC 4.
All of the remaining children were trespassing on the facility, but are not being charged. Their parents and guardians have been contacted.
Credit: getty
VSO Sheriff Mike Chitwood condemned the child's crime, saying, "Obviously, abusing wildlife is not a way to spend your downtime, you know, it’s a felony," Click Orlando reports.
"You just do not abuse wildlife," Chitwood said. "Unfortunately, this young man is going to learn a very expensive lesson.”
Fish and Wildlife Conservation-licensed nuisance gator trapper, AJ Ellis, called the incident "pretty sick," per Fox 35. "It's no different than kicking a puppy down the street or grabbing a puppy by the tail and swinging it over your head. I just don't know why somebody would do something like that."
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PEOPLE reached out to the Volusia Sheriff’s Office for comment.