The Nation - News from June 7, 1988

The killing of a 4-year-old girl by an alligator triggered a rash of reports of the reptiles near homes in Florida. Lt. Dick Lawrence, alligator coordinator for the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission in a 10-county Everglades region, said he is now quicker to fulfill requests to have the animals killed. Lawrence, who issues permits to have trappers kill troublesome alligators, said his office received 80 complaints about alligators Monday, four or five times the normal number, following the death Saturday of Erin Glover in Englewood. The child was in shallow water in a lake near her home when a 10 1/2-foot alligator grabbed her.