Known for its sunny amusement parks and lush resorts, the horizon has been immensely darkened in Orlando following an unprecedented string of tragedies.
A 2-year-old boy was killed after an alligator snatched him near a man-made lagoon at a Walt Disney World complex late Tuesday, marking the third tragedy to strike the city within the last week.
The body of the boy, Lane Graves, was found by a dive team Wednesday afternoon not far from where he was taken, after more than 50 officers had spent the night searching the lagoon with a helicopter, several marine units and an alligator tracker.
Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said the boy likely drowned.
“Of course, the autopsy has to confirm that, but there is likely no question in my mind that the child was drowned by the alligator,” Mr. Demings said at a press conference.
The family of four, which was vacationing from Nebraska, was on the shoreline near Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa at an outdoor movie night when the boy waded a couple of feet into the water and was attacked by the alligator.
The boy’s father went in after him but was unable to pry the alligator’s mouth open, and walked away from the encounter with scratches on his hands. The family alerted lifeguards on the scene.
The Seven Seas Lagoon on the Disney resort is connected to several canals that feed into bodies of water. The water is not for swimming, and several signs around the lagoon are marked “No Swimming.”
“This is Florida, and it’s not uncommon for alligators to be in bodies of water,” Sheriff Demings said.
Orlando — indeed, the entire nation — already had been in mourning due to another horrific event within the city’s limits.
On Sunday, about 20 miles from the Disney resort, a gunman opened fire at Pulse, a gay nightclub just outside of downtown Orlando.
Omar Mateen, a 29-year-old who lived in Fort Pierce, Florida, killed 49 and wounded 53 patrons. He pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in a 911 call before being killed in a shootout with police.
The shooting came less than 24 hours after singer Christina Grimmie, a finalist on “The Voice,” was shot and killed after an Orlando concert on Friday.
The 22-year-old star was signing autographs for fans when Kevin Loibl approached her after the concert and shot her three times. He was tackled to the ground by Ms. Grimmie’s brother, Marcus, but eventually shot himself.
At a vigil held for the singer, her brother paid tribute to the victims of the nearby Pulse attack.
“About four miles away from where we were staying, there was a huge tragedy to Orlando, to the U.S., to the LGBT community and to the whole world,” Mr. Grimmie said at the vigil. “I mean 50 people dead, who knows who’s injured I have no words.
“But to all those people that died and are suffering, my heart goes out,” he said.
• Bradford Richardson can be reached at brichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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