Several times, actually, as with more and more land being developed that leaves less and less "wild" for them to be left in.
To make matters even worse, people are notorious for finding one in a retention pond in a mobile home park and then feeding it, ala Betty White in "Lake Placid", which is really bad with an animal that big and with a brain that small, for they soon learn to associate people with food and lose their natural fear of humans.
The case I think you are probably referring to was particularly bad as a very frail elderly lady ran out of food and was rushed by two larger gators with each grabbing a leg and making a wish while doing the famous "gator roll" in full view of a large number of horrified and helpless onlookers, dismembering her on the spot.
It's actually fairly common for them to be found on porches, in swimming pools (ever try to stop in mid-dive? **grin**) and crossing highways on a regular basis, with large specimens making an extremely effective speed bump, even on a freeway, if it's a smaller car.
The biggest fear, of course, is that small children could be at considerable risk as gators choose prey based upon size and movement, not shape or species, while the biggest common outrage is that they seem to particularly relish poodles, hairball or no hairball.**grin**
Mike
Mike
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