Alligator Trappers Search for Gator that Attacked Florida Boy

Purestock/Thinkstock(SAINT CLOUD, Fla.) — The search is on for a 9-foot alligator that attacked a 9-year-old boy in Florida.

James Barney was bitten three times by an alligator in a local lakefront park around 2:30 p.m. on Thursday. The father of the bitten boy posted on his Facebook page Friday that his son was out of surgery and that his wounds had been “cleaned up and stapled.”

The attack is the first of it’s kind in Saint Cloud, Florida.

Alligator trappers are currently staking out the area where the attack occurred, Sandra Ramirez, the public information officer for the city of Saint Cloud, told ABC News.

The alligator was described as being roughly 9 feet, and 400-500 pounds.

“[The trappers] almost trapped it last night,” Ramirez said, “it got away, but the trappers were back at around 10:30 this morning and have been observing the area since.”

The trappers will remain at the site of the bites, which is currently closed off, but expect the chances of trapping the alligator will be greater when the sun goes down and the heat dies off.

“When the waters get cooler, that’s the best time [to trap],” said Ramirez.

Barney had been riding his bike when he decided to go into the water in a restricted swimming area. The boy suffered three bites and was air lifted to the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in Orlando.

“They were superficial bites,” said Ramirez, indicating that the wounds were not too deep.

The boy’s father, also named James Barney, turned to Facebook to express his feelings on the attack, urging readers to “count your blessings you never know when they might be gone.”