New details about the gator attack at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa have been revealed as the final report on the incident was released by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
According to the report, the father of the toddler reached into the gator’s mouth in an attempt to free his son’s head from the reptile’s jaw. In addition, the report says that the gator bit Lane Graves’ head as the boy bent down at the edge of a lagoon at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and that the boy died from a crushing bite and drowning.
Separately, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office released its report on the death. One witness, a 16-year-old tourist, said he was walking with his younger siblings on a beach-area walkway when he heard a scream from the lagoon and saw the alligator taking the boy away.
“The alligator first came in head first toward the beach but turned around once it had the child in its mouth and crawled back into the water headfirst,” Peter Courakos told deputies.
Tourist Alfred Smith said he photographed the alligator from his hotel room balcony about an hour and a half before the attack. A short time before the attack, he said, he saw children playing in the ankle-deep water. He was heading out the door to warn them about the alligator when he heard Lane’s mother screaming, the wildlife agency report said.
In addition, another tourist, Shawna Giacomini told investigators her two daughters saw the alligator five feet from shore about 45 minutes before the attack. The eldest daughter told a Disney cast member about it, and that employee went to inform another cast member. The family went to a nearby store and when they returned the boy had been attacked.
According to wildlife officials, Lane did nothing to provoke the alligator and that the death is classified as a predatory attack. The alligator may have had a diminished fear of people by being in an area with lots of humans, and wildlife officials are still investigating if alligator feeding took place.