Parents in north Florida posted several videos Sunday of an alligator roaming the grounds of a school in St. Johns County.

>> Read more trending news

One video shows it walking through the grass inside the fence surrounding Valley Ridge Academy in Ponte Vedra Beach.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokesman said someone alerted the Nuisance Alligator Hotline Sunday morning and a trapper was dispatched, but the alligator got away before the trapper arrived at the school.

“I would be scared of it if I was on school campus right now. I was hoping no one else was there,” fifth-grader Jake Romano said.

He was among several students and parents alarmed when they heard the gator was so close to the school -- and where children play.

“If you got kids around, it could be something serious,” Carlos Arroyo said. “Worst-case scenario something bad could happen, and you never want that.”

Parents said they are warning their children to be careful at school.

“If there’s a body of water, my kids know you don’t go near it, because there’s always a potential of being a gator -- that’s Florida,” Michelle Shelton said.

About the Author

Keep Reading

Cox Enterprises CEO Alex Taylor and AJC Publisher Andrew Morse were joined by AJC editors and Atlanta business react during the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in Midtown on Friday, January 24, 2025.
(Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

Featured

Austin Walters died from an overdose in 2021 after taking a Xanax pill laced with fentanyl, his father said. A new law named after Austin and aimed at preventing deaths from fentanyl has resulted in its first convictions in Georgia, prosecutors said. (Family photo)

Credit: Family photo