Alligator Kills Florida Swimmer

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. – A man swimming in a canal Friday evening was killed by an alligator, state officials said. It was the 17th recorded fatal alligator attack in Florida (search).

Kevin Albert Murray, 41, of Northport, was swimming in the Apollo Waterway when a 12-foot, 2-inch alligator attacked and killed him, said Gary Morse, spokesman for the southwest Florida office of the state Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (search).

The alligator was retrieved and killed by a trapper and state wildlife officer, Morse said.

Several people reportedly witnessed the attack in Port Charlotte (search).

Murray had a habit of swimming in the canal, Morse said.

As of May, there had been more than 340 documented alligator attacks on humans, with 16 deaths, in Florida since 1948, when record-keeping began.