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Though the video is just now being made available, the incident occurred Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021 in Dutchess County outside Van Wyck Junior High School in Wappingers Falls.
East Fishkill Police reported the four- to-five-foot alligator roaming around early that afternoon.
"A next-door neighbor, who just happened to look out her living room window, saw the 50-pound animal scurrying from a culvert and into the parking lot of the nearby school and immediately called 911," Daily Voice reported at the time.
"When police arrived on the scene they found the gator between the parking lot on the side of the school and a ravine on the edge of the property which had about two feet of water from all of the recent rains.
"East Fishkill called ECO, who sent ECO Officer Charles Eyler to the scene and he safely subdued the animal by throwing a towel over its eyes and taped its mouth shut with help from East Fishkill officers."
On Thursday, April 28, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation posted a video of just how it all played out on its official Twitter feed.
How did the alligator end up in New York?
According to the DEC, some gators are purchased illegally and manage to escape.
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