NJ Loose Alligator Update: Police Tried to Shoot It

Authorities in Middlesex County continue to track down a rogue alligator after one police officer attempted to shoot the reptile.

Last Wednesday, the Middlesex Borough Police Department responded to Victor Crowell Park on and officers made unsuccessful "attempts to capture and remove the threat from the potentially dangerous species of non-indigenous reptile, which is capable of inflicting serious or fatal injuries."

The alligator, estimated to be up to four feet long, was again located by officers on Saturday night in Lake Creighton and later in the Ambrose Brook, however the area in which it was located was not easily accessible.

Because the threat to public safety that this reptile causes is significant, a Middlesex Police Officer employed a safe discharge from a firearm in an attempt to neutralize it, while in close proximity.

Police say the alligator immediately submerged into the brook and it's not known if it was wounded.

Chief Matthew P. Geist said in a statement, "Citizens are strongly urged to stay away from Creighton Lake and the Ambrose Brook and should NOT approach or make attempts to capture the alligator."

Residents are asked to call police at (732) 356-1900 if the gator is spotted.

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Not our first reptile rodeo

Back in January, officials captured a three-foot-long alligator in Neptune, Ocean County.

An 8-foot gator was removed from a home in Philadelphia a few months back.

Alligator found in a large container in Neptune Township (Monmouth County SPCA)

Of course, nothing tops the alligator that was spotted in South Jersey back in 2018 and we were mocked by some people down south.

One of our sister radio stations in Lake Charles, Louisiana, which has alligators like we have squirrels and deer, posted the following message:

Hang in there, Jersey! You'll get through this. Thoughts and prayers, guys. Thoughts and prayers.

In 2017, police found an alligator in a swimming pool at an Atlantic City motel during a drug raid (that's how we roll here in the World's Play Ground!).