there is no way you'll open the jaws of that gator and get the child out of the gator's jaws but, you know you might be able distract the gator and it is impossible to open the jaws of an alligator. >> it was movie night there at the grand floridian. did the time of day play a role at all in the alligator's attack? >> well, certainly they're more active and they can, you know, be more of an ambush predator in the evening time but these animals are basically ambush predators waiting for something to come down to the water. when they see movement they're looking at it as something that is an animal in distress, easy prey is what they're going after. >> look, i was a reporter in south carolina. we were always running to the scene of an alligator on a golf course or near a bus stop so we know they're prevalent in the south but just give us a sense of how often they attack and are they typically aggressive? >> they're not typically aggressive. there's well over a million alligators in the state of florida alone and the bottom line is all the canals and lake, it's like a freeway system for

okay, there were gators there but not have been gators there for years so i can't blame it myself on disney. obviously the poor parents didn't know the gators were there and so how do you say just like i said there's signs about grizzlies but right now they're walking around out here as well and there are no signs here. >> it's an unfortunate and tragic wake-up call to a lot of people about the access gators and have just the interaction that happens in a state like that. all over the country with animals we're living in their home so an important note. jack, we appreciate your time this morning. >> thank you. >> all right, let's head now over to lara. >> thank you. >>> coming up on our big board why the judge in the stanford sexual assault case is being pulled are an upcoming trial. >>> startling revelations in the new o.j. simpson documentary. >>> game six of the nba finals, can the cavs keep up the comeback? our insiders have everything you need to know in just two minutes. stay with us. if you have allergy congestion, muddling through your morning is nothing new. ...your nose is

. >> the body of a two-year-old boy snatched by a killer gator recovered tonight, dragged to his death on his family's disney world vacation. so many asking why no stronger warning at the water's edge. plus the orlando killer's voice. new developments in the investigation tonight. >>> and showdown at target over the right to breast feed? >> he was saying, like, you're disgusting. >> someone lashes out and store employees rush to defend the young mother. first, the "nightline" five. >> e trade is all about seizing opportunity. >> cut. >> thank you. we'll call you. evening. film, smoke, atmosphere. >> you're a young farm hand and e trade is your cow. milk it. >> e trade is all about seizing opportunity. >> sign up at e trade.com and get up to $600. >> number one in just 60 seconds thank you for joining us. the death of a child is never an easy story to tell. a family on a disney world vacation losing their toddler in a tragic al garld attack. the outpouring of grief, and the resort's response. we have the latest. >> we recovered the remains of the two-year-old from the water. >> reporter

. >> the body of a two-year-old boy snatched by a killer gator recovered tonight, dragged to his death on his family's disney world vacation. so many asking why no stronger warning at the water's edge. plus the orlando killer's voice. new developments in the investigation tonight. >>> and showdown at target over the right to breast feed? >> he was saying, like, you're disgusting. >> someone lashes out and store employees rush to defend the young mother. first, the "nightline" five. >> e trade is all about seizing opportunity. >> cut. >> thank you. we'll call you. evening. film, smoke, atmosphere. >> you're a young farm hand and e trade is your cow. milk it. >> e trade is all about seizing opportunity. >> sign up at e trade.com and get up to $600. >> number one in just 60 seconds. wanna drink more water? with sodastream you turn plain water into sparkling water in seconds. and because it's so delicious, you'll drink 43% more water every day. sodastream. love your water. thank you for joining us. the death of a child is never an easy story to tell. a family on a disney world vacation los

. >> the body of a two-year-old boy snatched by a killer gator recovered tonight, dragged to his death on his family's disney world vacation. so many asking why no stronger warning at the water's edge. plus the orlando killer's voice. new developments in the investigation tonight. >>> and showdown at target over the right to breast feed? >> he was saying, like, you're disgusting. >> someone lashes out and store employees rush to defend the young mother. first, the "nightline" five. >> e trade is all about seizing opportunity. >> cut. >> thank you. we'll call evening. film, smoke, atmosphere. >> you're a young farm hand and e trade is your cow. milk it. >> e trade is all about seizing opportunity. >> sign up at e trade.com and get up to $600. >> number one in just 60 thank you for joining us. the death of a child is never an easy story to tell. a family on a disney world vacation losing their toddler in a tragic al garld attack. the outpouring of grief, and the resort's response. we have the latest. >> we re the two-year-old from the water. >> reporter: the 16-hour long desperate search

. >> on the field below, the senior northport huskies are beating the sarasota gators and the gators aren't happy. >> oh, chase. >> the game was becoming more and more confrontational. using vulgarities and numerous curse words are being used and they disagree with a call. so, instead of talking to the referee and sorting it out, they just start screaming at him and moving towards him in a hostile manner. >> although they aren't even at halftime, the referee ends the game. that means a win for the huskies. their fans erupt into cheers, but video captured by someone in the stands reveals gator coaches exploding with anger. >> in that video, you can see a coach being contemptuous towards a referee, the referee's hat, kicking the yellow flag that the referee had thrown when he called this game and you can his coach following him. some type of verbal altercation is going on. >> the camera pans away for a moment and then -- >> oh, no, no, no! >> when the cameraman looks back at the field, coaches and referees are sprinting towards gators' coach austin dexter and referee jamie reed, who ar

the problem is, they want to find that gator. they'll match it up with the teeth on the alligator to the bite marks on the child, things like that. because that animal's desensitized to humans. and that's one of the biggest threats with alligators. they get used to people, get used to feeding, get used to all that. to them, they're not afraid of anything anymore. and out of all the alligators. most of the time they're a peaceful species. they want to be left alone. you do your thing, they do theirs. but when they get desensitized to humans, and look at them like, this is where my next meal is coming from, that's a dangerous to have on a property when there's 20 million people coming through that at any given time. >> does that mean if you dropped a human being into these waters, there are alligators who wouldn't just automatically say there's food? >> right. it's not like jaws where they're on a mission to kill everything i can find. they're looking at it, okay, something's in the water splashing around. usually that's where some

you don't know there are gators there. knowing what i know about being a parent of little kids, if people knew that there were gators in there, they wouldn't let their kids anywhere near it. besides, if it's a problem, why doesn't disney put a fence around it. >> think about disney, people are coming to visit the magic kingdom and all the parks there from all over the world. people who aren't familiar with the south and with alligators. >> like this family from nebraska. >> if it says don't swim, i automatically assume there's a gator in the water. i grew up around them and we were fearful of them. but families from nebraska, from other countries, they don't know that. >> well, from new york, i didn't know that. i've been to florida many times and would say this, after 45 years nothing at all like this has happened before. so it's not like -- >> last year there was a guy that was killed. last year there was a guy killed swimming just north of orlando in orange city killed by a 12-foot alligator swimming in the water. befor

a gator grabbed him and pulled him into the water. his parents rushing to help, but the gator was just too powerful. the boy's body found the next day. late today, the family asking for privacy, saying, quote, "words cannot describe the shock and grief our family is experiencing over the loss of our son." members of their parish back in nebraska in mourning. >> they were protective. they were careful. it was a tragic -- it was a tragic accident, one that could happen to me, to you, anybody out there. >> reporter: today, they are still scouring those waters near the resort. five gators have already been found and are being examined. >> we're going to look at the five alligators we have already taken and we're going to compare things like bite marks. there is a good chance we already have the alligator. >> reporter: disney world does have gator warnings in some parts of the property, but not at their beaches. this photo, posted on facebook by another family, shows their little boy in the same ankle-deep water where lane was snatched by

the victim a 2-year-old boy dragged from a lake in a gator's mouth. >> the toddler's frantic father trying to stop the reptile as it swam off with his baby. >> they are searching right now. >> a heartbreaking story. a family vacation quickly turning into a nightmare in a matter of seconds. the couple and their three young children visiting orlando from nebraska staying at the grand floridian resort and spa. >> they were enjoying a outdoor movie night a man-made lake between the resort and walt disney world. the 2-year-old boy and his father they were splashing their feet around in the lake when out of nowhere the gator snatched the boy violently pulling him into the water the mother and father jumping into action doing their best to try to save the little boy. >> the father entered the water and tried to grab the child, was not successful in doing so. at some point, the mother may also have entered the water. the parents diligently tried to get the child. they alerted a nearby lifeguard who was there in the area as well. but they were unsuccessful in their efforts. >> search crews are usin

and also the gator that attacked. but after 16 agonizing hours, heartbreak. >> the orange county sheriff's office dive team located what is believed to be the remains of the deceased, a 2-year-old. >> reporter: it's this beach where lane was grabbed by an alligator believed to be 4 and 7 feet long. witnesses say they saw the toddler dragged under, while his parents and a staff lifeguard tried to snatch him back. while posted signs at the lake say no swimming, the orange county sheriff said the boy and his father were wading only a foot from the shore. there's no sign to suggest alligators live in the lagoon. should there be signs warning, beware, alligators? >> one of the things that they'll work with, walt disney world will work with the wildlife commission to make a determination, what is the best practices that they can employ. >> reporter: today wildlife officials pulled five alligators from the lake and examined them for any evidence they were involved in the attack. so far, nothing. alligator attacks on humans a

however, you can't take a gator. they can go through pipes and swa swamps. when he's on the beach up there to his ankles, i don't know what you're reporting, that's what i'm hearing, that gator thinks that's prey. something in there. a gator, their echo location -- their vibrations they can feel some people say up to a mile under water. say there's gator out there with little eyeballs like a submarine looking and hearing splashes going on and he submerges and come up like a bullet, i've seen this not only alligator, krk dials and come like a bullet coming up. you can't imagine the speed i'm talking about. >> for the father to grab his son it wouldn't have worked? >> no, because the jaws of a gator are the strongest of probably any in the world. they clamp down and it's like a vice. it's impossible. i've had a lot of things happen in my lifetime. you get hit by lightning or win the lottery before you ever have something like this happen with a gator. this is very rare. disney does not encourage gators in their park and fish and game tell you this. you have se

a gator grabbed him and pulled him into the water. his parents rushing to help, but the gator was just too powerful. the boy's body found the next day. late today, the family asking for prove say, saying, quote, "words cannot describe the shock and grief our family is experiencing over the loss of our son." members of their parish back in nebraska in mourning. >> they were careful. it was a tragic accident, one that could happen to me, to you, anybody out there. >> reporter: today, they are still scouring those waters near the resort. five gators have already been found and are being examined. >> we're going to look at the five alligators we have already taken and we're going to compare things like bite marks. there is a good chance we already have the alligator. >> reporter: disney world does have gator warnings in some parts of the property, but not at their beaches. this photo, posted on facebook by another family shows their little boy in the same ankle-deep water where lane was snatched by that gator. taken less than an hour befo

the lifeguard was nearby and apparently what disney does is any time a gator and there are so many gators down in florida, as you know, any time a gator gets over 4 feet, they relocate it to another area. this one was 4 to 7 feet. >> we're going to talk to an expert. many of our viewers live in florida and in the south where there are alligator. it is a manmade lagoon. you are not expecteding that. >> meanwhile, continuing in orlando, another fox news alert. the terrorist's wife apparently knew about his deadly plan but she never told the police. >> and now she could face more than 100 charges as an accomplice to murder. leland vittert is live from orlando with more. >> reporter: ainsley and steve, good morning, if this is true, it means that the massacre at the pulse nightclub behind me was entirely preventible. noor zahi salman, the wife of omar mateen could be charged. they think not only did she knew about his plans, she knew about him buying the guns, maybe even helped him case the pulse nightclubs among others. exclusive video from daily mail.com showing the family home in californi

why were there no gator warning signs and why were their gators in a man-made lagoon next to the hotel. >>> killer on came. nbc news obtains video of the orlando gunman in uniform as a security guard. a survivor raises questions about why authorities waited to storm the building. >>> race against time. developing news as investigators find the wreckage of that missing egyptair jetliner days before the batteries from the black boxes would likely run out. >>> coffee and cancer. what the world health organization is now revealing. >>> royal support. prince william takes a stand, and makes history. >> announcer: from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. >>> good evening. orlando, florida, still reeling from sunday's terror mass carry is tonight left horrified by the awful death of a 2-year-old child attacked by an alligator at a high-end disney resort. late today after an intense day-long search, officials made the grim announcement that the body of the little nebraska boy had been recovered. he was snatched while wading in a lagoon at disne

and also the gator that attacked. but after 16 agonizing hours, heartbreak. >> the dive team located what is believed to be the remains of the deceased, a 2-year-old. >> reporter: it's this beach where lane was grabbed by an alligator believed to be 4 and 7 feet long. witnesses say they saw the toddler dragged under, while his parents and a staff lifeguard tried to snatch him back. while posted signs at the lake say no swimming, the orange county sheriff said the boy and his father were wading only a foot from the shore. there's no sign to suggest alligators live in the lagoon. should there be signs warning, beware, alligators? >> one of the things that they'll work with, walt disney world will work with the wildlife commission to make a determination, what is the best practices that they can employ. >> reporter: today wildlife officials pulled five alligators from the lake and examined them for any evidence they were involved in the attack. so far, nothing. alligator attacks on humans are extremely rare, even in a st

even going into the water and struggling with the gator itself but the gator's grip on the child was too strong. he also adds that search teams are not leaving until they find that little boy. >> that's quite a scene there. happened around 9:30 in the evening there around orlando florida. the mom also ran into the water as you can understand any parent would to try to get their child. the dad wrestled the gator and does have a few scratches on his hands. >> they were vacations from nebraska with three children. it all happened so quickly and that gator incredibly powerful. >> overnight crews we're told up to 50 are on the scene there with helicopters and spotlights looking down as well as boaters are there and alligator trappers on the scene desperately trying to search from this young child but as you heard from the sheriff there it doesn't bode well at all. >> unbelievable. yet another tragedy. >> 3rd time in orlando there's been tragedy. another really huge story that took place over the weekend. the orlando night club massacre. 27 of those wounded in sunday morning's attack are s

every splash, every movement on the water, could be a gator. >> was that a gator? >> that was a bull frog. sounds like a gator. >> reporter: this is the sound of an alligator broadcast to lure them to trappers. it's mating season which experts say makes the gators more aggressive. that may explain why the gat or after sunset. at disney, there are no swimming signs, but there are no signs warning of the gators. >> i think they should have signs everywhere. >> do you think it is irresponsible they did not? >> i don't think so. >> reporter: disney now plans to post gator signs. in the last two days as many as seven gators have been captured on the lake where the toddler has killed. bait lines are set to see if there are anymore. >> so if you worked at disney, would there be any way to control the gator population to make it safe for people? >> no. you know, i say no because they are in the wild. >> reporter: it is estimated there are 1.5 million gators in florida. the population controlled by a yearly hunt. it is smart to have a healthy respect for a lake, pond or dit

four gators were pulled from the water and those animals will be euthanized. the alaskan family was on the shores for movie night and the 2-year-old was playing in a few inches of water when the gator snatched him up. the father tried to save him but failed. >> there is no way you'll open the jaws of that gator. >> children like this one visiting in march regularly play on the shores. this mother says she will never do that again. disney is deploying all of their resources in the search. >> we are helping the family and doing everything we can to assist law enforcement. >> and disney has just now closed all of their beaches here. we have also learn that much of the land is set aside as a nature preserve and in the past that hampers their ability to do anything about the gators in the water. channel 6 "action news" back to you. >> thank you. we want to take a live look from orlando florida where a news conference is about to begin where they will begin the update for the search for the 2-year-old child, we are monitoring, and if you would like to watch it it wi

i would be derelict if i didn't ask you about that gator tragedy. you know, as one who vacations in your state, congressman, i think we get lulled into thinking that they don't pose a danger. >> michael, i tell you what, the gators are everywhere in florida. and we see them everywhere. and the rule of thumb i tell people, when they come into florida, if you see a body of water in florida, just assume there's an alligator in it. that's kind of common knowledge around here. >> i understand our gator hunter? >> no, i'm not. i'm going for the first time tomorrow, in fact. i'm going to take my son and, in fact, we did a tour today through central florida and went through some cattle farms, and they took us to an airboat ride on one of the lakes out there. and they said the state fwc, the florida water commission, wildlife commission, was doubling the amount of gator permits they're putting out this year, because there's such an abundance of them. >> how will you hunt them? >> well, you go out on an airboat, you'll shine a light and find them and then you

i'd be derelict if i didn't ask you about that gator tragedy. as one who vacations in your state i think we get lulled into thinking that they don't pose a danger. >> michael, i tell you what, the gators are everywhere in florida and we see them everywhere and the rule of thumb i tell people when they come into florida, if you see a body of water in florida just assume there's an alligator in it and that's common knowledge around here. >> i understand you are a gator hunter? >> no, i'm not. i'm going for the first time tomorrow in fact. i'm going to take my son and we -- in fact, we did a tour today through central florida and went through some cattle farms and they took us for an airboat ride on one of the lakes out there and they said the florida water commission, wild life commission was doubling the amount of gator permits they're putting out because there's such an abundance of them. >> how you you hunt them? you'll go out on an airboat, you'll shine a light and you har boon them and bring them to the surface and you'll -- >> are you motiva

. >>> and the monster gator trading the swamps for the golf course. and it's better for business than you might think. >>> "nightly news" begins right now. >> announcer: from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. >> good evening, everyone. i'm savannah guthrie in tonight for lester. we begin with donald trump in fiery form today, under pressure to reveal where the millions he claimed to raise for veterans several months ago h actually gone. tonight we follow the money, where the donations ended up, how recently some of those donations were made and what had trump blasting away at his favorite target today, the media. nbc's halle jackson is outside trump towers with the latest. halle, good evening to you. >> reporter: good evening, savannah. we are learning late tonight donald trump may have a new conservative challenger, that mystery candidate, raising more questions about where the money really went. trump bristling now in the hot seat, and getting heated. for 39 minutes, a fiery roast. >> you're a slea

you understand the prevalence of gators there. should there have been different signage at the foot of this lake? >> yeah, i think they're going to rethink that. you need to make people understand why no swimming. people think no swimming at all. they think we can't swim. they think there is an undercurrent or something else. people understand that gators can be found in any of these fresh water bodies of water. they will rethink letting their kids go in these areas of water. bottom line is there are over 1 million alligators in the state of florida. their populations have exploded. we're going to see more and more of these types of conflicts as time goes on. >> so you believe though that it is rare for a gator to actually attack. did it have anything to do with the fact that it was nighttime? >> absolutely. it is very rare. understand that there is i think a total of 383 attacks since 1948 in the state of florida? that's really nothing when you look at it in perspective. but having said that, if you take a small child, put them o

all these gators were caught living too close to humans. some alligators are migrating from the country. american alligators live in waters all along the gulf coast from texas to florida, even in oklahomaaged arkansas and as far north as north carolina. last month police captured this alligator lurking near a dallas middle school. this alligator was found in the middle of the road. >> it rolled me around under the water. >> reporter: rachel lillian knows the terror. she lost her arm in an alligator attack last year while swimming in a river 20 miles north of orlando. she was rescued by two people in a nearby kayak. >> i realized i have only one arm and that was -- that was devastating. >> they are more active at night. they do most of their feeding at night. >> reporter: harris said alligators are dangerous because of the way they hide and hunt. how well do they hide in water? >> they can disappear like ghosts. they are opportunist eaters. they can wait for hours and hours until something comes along close enough that they can snatch it up.

he saw his child in the mouth of gator. he ran to render aid or get the child out of the gator's mouth. he had some scratches on his arm, but was unsuccessful. he was able to get the child away from the father, and to move into the water area, and disappear into the water. disney had boats that were on this particular lake. they're out there first. the creek fire rescue, which manages disney from an ems standpoint, they came out and put boats on the water, the sheriff's marine team, divers have been called out. we've been searching since 10:00 last night. here we are 12 hours later, and we can't find this child. we are holding out hope, but you know, quite frankly, it is looking grim. we are still holding out hope, we can locate this child. >> and just a final question. how deep and long is the lagoon? how difficult is this search? >> it is a very deep lagoon. i do not know how deep it is nor how far, but it is a massive body of water. it is called the seven seas lagoon or something like that the official name of it. it is

reports of gators on the property? >> as we stated earlier, disney has a very proactive program for identifying and removing alligators that are a fear of people and a risk, we remove alligators routinely, and we have an open partnership where they call a trapper or staffer allowed to take out alligators when they see one that is a problem. i don't have the numbers for you right now. we don't get complaints because it's an open process. they take the action directly. >> reporter: how far offshore and how deep a water? >> i'm going estimate it was, i don't know, 10-15 yards out and not quite suredeep. what i was told is approximately six feet deep in the water. we will take measurements and all of that, that will come out as part of the investigation. >> reporter: were there other people in the water? was what this child doing permissible in your view, was he doing anything that he shouldn't have been doing? >> there were no other people at the water at the time. and i believe what the two-year-old was doing is what per

>> you've got to respect the gator. all you need is that one gator that's got an aggressive personality. you go down near the water, then you pay for it. >>> coming up, justin bieber, the jenner sisters, dame helen mirren. what do they all have in common? >> here's a hint. read the fine print. >>> in case you haven't noticed tattoos have been popular not just among sailors or hipsters or anchors. >> but if you've been worried about making a permanent commitment, why not consider something small, even barely noticeable? >> huh. >> how about a micro tattoo? we're up all "nightline" with abc's juju cheng. >> reporter: he keeps kendall and kylie jenner looking pretty in ink. and he's the guy behind the small cross on justin bieber's face. ♪ so you're in pretty good company. if you're sporting a tattoo from renowned artist john boy. >> i've been tattooing 16 years. so i learned in the biker era, where you pick a design off a wall and that was it. and then it just became more of an art form. >> reporter: it's john boy's att

a lot of gators that we're seeing are small animals. when they discover a large potentially dangerous animal it's removed almost immediately. >> and as you point out, more people are killed by choking on the turkey legs that they can eat at disney world than they are going to be attack by a gator, right? >> well, you know, here's the thing, you can't live your life in fear. you have to be reasonable as you move forward. clearly, if you are in the wilderness exploring florida, chances are if there's a body of fresh water there may have been a gator in there at some point. you have to be reasonably cautious but you don't have to stop living because of the fact that there are alley gators in florida. it's very remote. more people are kill in plane crashes and car crashes than kill by alley gators. in the entire country, in the entire state of florida, in the past seven years, just two dozen people have had a serious altercation with an alligator so it's very rare. >> these people are feeding these animals. big problem? >> absolutely. you f

>> every open body of water in florida is a gator risk. people from kansas don't know that! >> the out-of-towners don't know it but floridians, it's a hotel. they're out-of-towners by definition. >> trey songz throwing a pool

the gator pulling away with the child. the father calls 911. >> of course, the family was distraught. and i believe what this 2-year-old was doing was what perhaps any 2-year-old might be doing. >> reporter: that particular beach does have a "no swimming" sign and a lifeguard on duty, but it happened too fast to help. wildlife officials say disney has a full-time staff observing these waters and any gators spotted are reported and removed. disney world today closing all beaches on the property. five alligators were removed from the lagoon during the search for the boy. >> everyone here at the walt disney world resort is devastated by this tragic accident. >> reporter: late today, disney, the parent company of abc saying, quote, there are no words to convey the profound sorrow we feel for the family and their unimaginable loss. we are devastated and heartbroken by this tragic accident, and are doing what we can to help the family during this difficult time. on behalf of everyone at disney, we offer our deepest sympathies."

all these gators were caught living too close to humans. including this 13-foot giant. some alligators are migrating from the country. american alligators live in waters all along the gulf coast from texas to florida, even in oak and arkansas and as far north as north carolina. last month police captured this alligator lurking near a dallas middle school. in spurn houston, cops has to lasso this yearly six-foot alligator found in the middle of the road. >> it rolled me around under the water. >> reporter: rachel lillian knows the terror. she lost her arm in an alligator attack last year while swimming in a river 20 miles north of orlando. she was rescued by two people in a nearby kayak. >> i realized i have only one arm and that was -- that was devastating. >> they are more active at night. they do most of their feeding at night. >> reporter: harris said alligators are dangerous because of the way they hide and hunt. how well do they hide in water? >> they can disappear like ghosts. they are opportunist eaters. they can wait for hours and hours until something comes alo

why were there no gator warning signs and why were their gators in a man-made lagoon next to the hotel. >>> killer on came. nbc news obtains video of the orlando gunman in uniform as a security guard. a survivor raises questions about why authorities waited to storm the building. >>> race against time. developing news as investigators find the wreckage of that missing egyptair jetliner days before the batteries from the black boxes would likely run out. >>> coffee and cancer. what the world health organization is now revealing. >>> royal support. prince william takes a stand, and makes history.

all these gators were caught living too close to humans. some alligators are migrating from the country. american alligators live in waters all along the gulf coast from texas to florida, even in oklahomaaged arkansas and as far north as north carolina. last month police captured this alligator lurking near middle school. this alligator was found in the middle of the road. >> it rolled me around under the water. >> reporter: rachel lillian knows the terror. she lost her arm in an alligator attack last year while swimming in a river 20 miles north of orlando. she was rescued by two people in a nearby kayak. >> i realized i have only one arm and that was -- that was devastating. >> they are more active at night. they do most of their feeding at night. >> reporter: harris said alligators are dangerous because of the way they hide and hunt. how well do they hide in water? >> they can disappear like ghosts. they are opportunist eaters. they can wait for hours and hours until something comes along close enough that they can snatch it >> reporter:

the gator pulling away with the child. the father calls 911. >> of course, the family was distraught. and i believe what this 2-year-old was doing was what perhaps any 2-year-old might be doing. >> reporter: that particul sign and a lifeguard on duty, but it happened too fast to help. wildlife officials say disney has a full-time staff observing these waters and any gators spotted are reported and removed. disney world today closing all beaches on the property. five alligators were removed from the lagoon during the search for the boy. >> everyone here at the walt disney world resort is devastated by this tragic accident. >> reporter: late today, disney, the parent company of abc saying, quote, there are no words to convey the profound sorrow we feel for the family and their unimaginable loss. we are devastated and heartbroken by this tragic accident, and are doing what we can to help the family during this difficult time. on behalf of everyone at disney, we offer our deepest sympathies." attacks on humans are rare, but th

the gator pulling away with the child. the father calls 911. >> of course, the family was distraught. and i believe what this 2-year-old was doing was what perhaps any 2-year-old might be doing. >> reporter: that particular beach does have a "no swimming" sign and a lifeguard on duty, but it happened too fast to help. wildlife officials say disney has a full-time staff observing these waters and any gators spotted are reported and removed. disney world today closing all beaches on the property. five alligators were removed from the lagoon during the search for the boy. >> everyone here at the walt disney world resort is devastated by this tragic accident. >> reporter: late today, disney, the parent company of abc, saying, quote, "there are no words to convey the profound sorrow we feel for the family and their unimaginable loss. we are devastated and heartbroken by this tragic accident, and are doing what we can to help the family during this difficult time. on behalf of everyone at disney, we offer our deepest sympathies.

gators are everywhere, because there are so many of them. when we went to visit my mother on the gulf coast, she has a beautiful little home abutting a lake. my kids went down there to look at the turtles and to play with the egrets and this and that. they weren't in the water but they were close. an old man came out and hurried me away. he was like, there are gators in them waters. i was like, what? he was like, yeah, get your kids out of there. i wouldn't let my kids play there. we did. we listened to him. lo and behold, two, three hours later, there was a 12-foot alligator laying in the exact spot my kids were playing in. that's something i wouldn't expect. >> we are looking right now at a photo that you took of a gator. >> that's it. >> that's a huge gator. >> were you just terrified? >> oh, my god. my family and i stood around behind the screen door of my mom's house just peering at it. we couldn't believe it. floridians have been very defensive because if you're in florida, you should know there are gators around and you should but you

. >>> a huge gator brings a game of golf to a halt and look at this. just video taken on the golf course in florida's golf coast earl earl this month. or on the gulf coast. some estimate the pep tireptile 15 feet long. gator has reportedly been roaming the course for years. i guess they're used to it. one employee says he doesn't bother anybody and they don't bother him, either. and gatorsi of course not an unusual sight in florida. >> that gator is so huge it doesn't even look real. >> right? >> here, of course, you don't see gators like that very often at all. take a look at this, though. an animal control officer pulled a two-foot-long alligator from a lake in jackson township, ocean county yesterday. an exotic reptile handler is taking care of the animal. investigators believe someone was keeping it as a pet. but released it into the lake when it got too big. >> oops. >>> well here's an oops. a major mess that's gone viral. garbage covering the beach in wildwood over memorial day weekend. public works crews had the trash cleaned up within hours but

best advice toys let the gator play through. best advice toys give the gator the entire state of florida. it is his now. >> that is a big alligator. >> everybody move. >> they can move fast, that guy is crazy videotaping that with a cell phone. >>> still ahead on "eyewitness news" this morning it is called instant beer. >> the easy new way to brew a cold within right in your home when you come bac parts a and b and want more coverage, guess what? you could apply for a medicare supplement insurance plan whenever you want. no enrollment window. no waiting to apply. that means now may be a great time to shop for an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. medicare doesn't cover everything. and like all standardized medicare supplement insurance plans, these help cover some of what medicare doesn't pay. so don't wait. call now to request your free decision guide. it could help you find the aarp medicare supplement plan that works for you. these types of plans have no networks, so you ge

>> you've got to respect the gator. all you need is that one gator that's got an aggressive personality. you go down near the water, then you pay for it. >>> coming up, justin bieber, the jenner sisters, dame helen mirren. what do they all have in common? >> here's a hint. read the fine print. >> announcer: "world news now" continues after this from our abc stations. "world news now" continues after this from our abc stations. >>> in cas >>> in case you haven't noticed tattoos have been surging in popularity and not just among samers or hipsters or anchors. >> but if you've been worried about making a permanent commitment, why not consider something small, even barely noticeable? >> huh. >> how about a micro tattoo? we're up all "nightline" with abc's juju cheng. >> reporter: he keeps kendall and kylie jenner looking pretty in ink. and he's the guy behind the small cross on justin bieber's face. ♪ >> reporter: so you're in pretty good company, if you're sporting a tattoo from renowned artist john boy. >> i've been tat

the father trying to wrestle his son away from the gator. new details from authorities just in. >>> the orlando nightclub shooting investigation is now turning to the shooter's wife. what did she know about the plot, plus, more survival stories from inside the club. hear a woman's terrifying moment when she was locked eyes with the shooter. >>> war of words. hillary clinton and president obama in a joint attack going after donald trump and angry and impassioned moment from the president blasting the presumptive nominee. overnight trump responding. >>> and a record breaking swim. a young boy braves the rough waters around alcatraz. >>> and we do say good wednesday morning. it's been a rough week for people in orlando. for the third time in less than a week the area hit by tragedy. >> this time the scene is in the grand floridian resort and spa where a 2-year-old was dragged into a lagoon by an alligator. they were on vacation visiting from their home in nebraska when they decided to attend movie night on the shore of that resort. tragedy over

how long have you been dealing with gators? decades? >> over 40 years. >> something like this happens like -- >> in an instant. i had one of my children, very young, about this age, wandered off at disney and they were incredible. they found the child. we were panic stricken. it was right there by the tea cups. they do a great job. they're intelligent at disney and it's one of these unfortunate situations. >> there were signs, no swimming. i don't know if there were no wildlife signs. when you come to florida, florida has a lot of gators. if the child was walking around the periphery of this lagoon, it was nighttime, what would the gator be thinking? >> splashing is attractive to these animals. it could sound like an animal struggling in the water. they come over to see what it is. if they have a chance to take that animal, they will. at least a lot of things that play on this. nighttime splashing in the water -- >> is it impossible to keep gators out of lagoons. think of the kids. >> the name alligator came from christopher columbus ca