Not a burglar, just a gator: Florida resident's nighttime surprise

CAPE CORAL, Florida (WBBH) -- Jennifer Sutton had just tucked her daughter into bed Sunday night when she heard a loud banging at her front door. At first, she thought someone might be trying to break in, but when she checked her security camera, the real culprit was even more surprising.

It was an alligator.

She heard the reptile thrashing against the front door of her home along Northwest 35th Place.

For Sutton, who has lived in Florida for just two years, it was a quintessential “Welcome to the Sunshine State” moment.

“I was about to open the door, but then I thought, ‘No, I’m not opening that door,’” Sutton said with a laugh. “I opened my phone, checked the Ring app, and there it was — the alligator, just lying there.”

Sutton quickly called 911, and within minutes, Cape Coral police officers arrived. They soon found themselves in a chase as the alligator led them around Sutton’s property. The gator tried to slip through the backyard fence and finally wandered next door.

"I feel like I was surprised," Sutton said. "It really felt like somebody was trying to break into our house, and it's an alligator. So, yeah, he was really big, though."

It took a team of five people to hoist the gator onto the back of a trapper’s truck.

For Sutton, the close encounter felt like she’d earned her Florida badge of honor.

“I’ve joined the club now,” she said. “I’m in Florida for real.”

Since the incident, Sutton has made a few adjustments to her nightly routine, including avoiding late-night walks with her dog and steering clear of the canal behind her house after dark.

Sutton said trappers estimated the alligator to be 7 feet, 10 inches. She suspects it was simply looking for a route back to the nearby canal.

For some, it's just another story from Florida. For Sutton, it’s an unforgettable reminder of the state’s wild side.