MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) — An alligator was spotted crawling out of a storm drain in Alabama on Monday afternoon as children were returning home from school.
Anthony Patterson and his girlfriend, Kenisha Miller, were on their way home when they did a double-take and slammed on their brakes in a neighborhood near downtown Mobile. Patterson said he almost ran over the gator.
“We saw a gator coming out of the drainage hole, and we were like, ‘Is that a real gator?'” Miller said.
They said they hurried to call police and game and wildlife officials because the gator was inching towards an apartment complex, and not even 50 feet down the road, a school bus was dropping off children. They said other people nearby were initially oblivious to the reptile.
The gator soon drew a crowd of onlookers as responders tried to capture it. All appeared shocked about it being there and wondered how it got there in the first place.
“A lot of people in the neighborhood started coming out with their phones and stuff and were trying to record it because they were just as shocked as we were. No, no, never, seen anything like this, in the hood anyway,” Patterson said.
Wildlife officials safely captured the gator and took it out of the area.