Alligator kills man during late-night swim

ORANGE, Texas — A Texas man was attacked and killed by an alligator during a late-night swim on Friday.

Officers found 28-year-old Tommy Woodward's body floating in Adam's Bayou at 4:30 a.m. Friday, half a mile down from where he was swimming off Burkart's Marina in southeastern Texas.

Woodward was swimming with a woman in the bayou around 2:30 a.m. on Friday morning, when the pair spotted an 11-foot alligator. The woman got out of the water, but Woodward didn't.

"The female that was with him saw the alligator come from underneath the dock here in the marina and said 'hey, there's an alligator," said Orange police Capt. Robert Enmon. "And, he acknowledged it and jumped in anyway."

Police said Woodward's body had puncture wounds to his upper chest and left arm.

Employee Michelle Wright was working when the attack happened. "I come out, take a flashlight, trying to see where he's at," said Wright.

She ran outside when she heard screams. She said the gator pulled Woodward underwater twice. "The alligator grabbed him and pulled him under," said Enmon.

Employees said Woodward would regularly swim in the bayou, along with many others, including children.

"I mean kids are out here swimming in the bayou every day with 3- or 4-footers," said Enmon. "I mean that's not that big a deal."

But after the large gator was spotted near the marina about two weeks ago, the restaurant's owner posted a "No Swimming — Alligators" sign. On Friday, that rule was broken.

Wright said Woodward was drinking before the attack, but police said they can't confirm alcohol was a factor until they receive autopsy results, which are pending.