Alligator Attacks Handler As Shocked Kids Watch In Horror At Birthday Party

A guest at a reptile center in West Valley City, Utah – a suburb of Salt Lake City – jumped into an enclosure to rescue a handler pulled in by an alligator at a children’s birthday party as frightened kids looked on and one yelled, “Mommy!”

Theresa Wiseman captured the video that showed her husband, Donnie Wiseman, coming to the aid of the instructor at Scales and Tails, a self-described “educational and entertainment company.”

This video shows the reptile center employee attempting to guide the gator back into the water tank after it jumped to the platform. She signs a command for the alligator. The animal then grabs her hand and begins pulling her into the tank.

Wiseman then jumps into the tank to wrestle the instructor’s hand away from the alligator’s jaws with the assistance of another guest, later identified as Todd Christopher.

In a statement released on Facebook, the company said the handler was provided medical assistance at the scene by guest Amy Christopher, who had a nursing background and started first aid prior to the arrival of emergency services.