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Massive crocodile believed responsible for killing man on vacation with wife and kids in Australia
Authorities killed on Monday a large crocodile thought responsible for Australia’s second fatal attack in a month.
The latest victim was a 40-year-old man from New South Wales state who had been fishing on Saturday while on vacation with his wife and children, traveling through Queensland state with a trailer, according to police. Government conservation officer Daniel Guymer said the man fell into the Annan River south of Cooktown. His body has not been recovered.
Cooktown resident Bart Harrison said the steep bank had collapsed underneath the victim’s feet, sending him more than 20 feet into the river which is renowned as a crocodile habitat.
“It’s straight up and down. It’s a hairy spot to be fishing,” Harrison said. “We grew up watching the crocs swim around there and I wouldn’t go near that edge. There’re always one or two big crocodiles living there.”
Guymer said the suspected crocodile, which had a scar on its snout, was found in a creek about 2.5 miles away from the scene of the accident. Witnesses saw crocodiles in the area, known by locals as Crocodile Bend.
“Wildlife officers have humanely euthanized a large crocodile approximately 4.9 meters (16-foot) in length that is believed to be responsible for the fatal attack,” Guymer told reporters. “The animal had markings on its snout that were consistent with it being the target animal,” he said.
The man’s death came after a 12-year-old girl was snatched by a crocodile on July 2 while swimming with family in a creek in the neighboring Northern Territory. Her remains were found days later and wildlife rangers shot dead her 14-foot killer.
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This is the third fatal crocodile attack in Australia this year, close to the worst annual death toll on record of four in 2014. A 16-year-old boy was killed while swimming off a Queensland island on April 18.
Charles Darwin University crocodile expert Brandon Sideleau said there were probably at least two large crocodiles at the river bend where the latest incident took place because people illegally fed crocodiles road kill such as dead kangaroos. The crocodiles had learned to associate human presence with food, he said.
The crocodile population has exploded across Australia’s tropical north since the reptiles that can live up to 70 years became a protected species under Australian law in the 1970s,
Sideleau said there was little evidence to explain why Australia’s annual death tolls from crocodile attacks fluctuated. For long stretches in recent decades, there have been no deaths.
“All attacks in Australia can be avoided with the proper precautions,” he said.
Government authorities are investigating a social media video that appears to show a crocodile being fed in the same river.
“Very risky and very reckless”
Guymer warned that feeding dangerous wildlife in Queensland was an offense punishable by a fine of almost 6,500 Australian dollars ($4,200).
“It is, of course, a very, very concerning behavior. It’s very risky and it’s very reckless,” he said.
The Northern Territory government said after the girl’s death that crocs could not be allowed to outnumber humans. The government had previously said it “uses a risk-based strategic management approach to determine the level of management activity” for crocodiles.
“We live in a place where crocodiles occupy our water places,” Northern Territory Police Minister Brent Potter said last week, according to CBS News partner network BBC News. “It’s just a reminder to stay out of the water as best we can.”
Crocodiles are highly mobile, and have periodically had dangerous encounters with people in Australia. Just last month, police shot and killed a saltwater crocodile that was terrorizing a remote Australian community by eating dogs and lunging at kids. The reptile was cooked and eaten by local residents.
On New Year’s Eve, a crocodile jumped on board a fisherman’s boat in Queensland while the man was fishing at a creek. He was not hurt.
In May 2023, a man snorkeling off the coast of North Queensland, Australia, was attacked by a crocodile – and survived by prying its jaws off his head. That same month, the remains of an Australian man who went missing on a fishing trip in crocodile-infested waters were found inside two of the reptiles.
NEW YORK — Former New York Gov. David Paterson and his stepson were attacked in New York City on Friday night, authorities said.
The incident occurred just before 9 p.m. on Second Avenue near East 96th Street on the Upper East Side, according to the New York City Police Department.
Police said officers were sent to the scene after an assault was reported. When officers arrived, police say they found a 20-year-old man suffering from facial injuries and a 70-year-old man who had head pain. Both victims were taken to a local hospital in stable condition.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the former governor said the two were attacked while “taking a walk around the block near their home by some individuals that had a previous interaction with his stepson.”
The spokesperson said that they were injured “but were able to fight off their attackers.”
Both were taken to Cornell Hospital “as a precaution,” he added.
Police said no arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.
The 70-year-old Paterson, a Democrat, served as governor from 2008 to 2010, stepping into the post after the resignation of Eliot Spitzer following his prostitution scandal. He made history at the time as the state’s first-ever Black and legally blind governor.
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A 17-year-old boy was critically injured and a person is in custody after a gunman opened fire on a SEPTA bus in North Philadelphia Friday evening, police said.
At around 6:15 p.m., Philadelphia police were notified about a shooting on a SEPTA bus traveling on Allegheny Avenue near 3rd and 4th streets in North Philadelphia, Inspector D F Pace told CBS News Philadelphia.
There were an estimated 30 people on the bus at the time of the shooting, Pace said, but only the 17-year-old boy was believed to have been shot. Investigators said they believe it was a targeted attack on the teenager and that he was shot in the back of the bus at close range.
According to Pace, the SEPTA bus driver alerted a control center about the shooting, which then relayed the message to Philadelphia police, who responded to the scene shortly.
Officers arrived at the scene and found at least one spent shell casing and blood on the bus, but no shooting victim, Pace said. Investigators later discovered the 17-year-old had been taken to Temple University Hospital where he is said to be in critical condition, according to police.
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Through their preliminary investigation, police learned those involved in the SEPTA shooting may have fled in a silver-colored Kia.
Authorities then found a car matching the description of the Kia speeding in the area and a pursuit began, Pace said. Police got help from a PPD helicopter as they followed the Kia, which ended up crashing at 5th and Greenwood streets in East Mount Airy. Pace said the Kia crashed into a parked car.
The driver of the crashed car ran away but police were still able to take them into custody, Pace said.
Investigators believe there was a second person involved in the shooting who ran from the car before it crashed. Police said they believe this person escaped near Allegheny Avenue and 4th Street, leaving a coat behind.
According to Pace, police also found a gun and a group of spent shell casings believed to be involved in the shooting in the same area.
“It’s very possible that there may have been a shooting inside the bus and also shots fired from outside of the bus toward the bus,” Pace said, “We’re still trying to piece all that together at this time.”
This is an active investigation and police are reviewing surveillance footage from the SEPTA bus.