ASTOR, Fla. -- A Lake County Sheriff's deputy is being called a hero after shooting an 11-foot alligator to save a 15-year-old Titusville girl on Friday.
The teen had been floating on a raft in Freak Creek near Alexander Springs when the gator began swimming her way. She rushed to shore and climbed a tree, but the gator wouldn't leave -- waiting at the base of the tree and hissing for 30 minutes, according to CBS Orlando affiliate WKMG.
Her mom frantically called 911, telling dispatchers multiple alligators were stopping her from coming down.
A responding deputy reached the girl, who he said wouldn't have lasted another 20 minutes of clinging to the tree. But, as he arrived and went to save her, the gator began charging at him, WKMG reported.
The deputy fired a single round from his rifle, killing the alligator.
He then helped the teen down the tree.
No one was hurt.
