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Deadly Attack On 2-Year-Old Prompts Disney World To Install Alligator Warning Signs, Fences

ORLANDO, FL (CBSNewYork) -- Walt Disney World is installing a fence around beach areas and will also add alligator warning signs.

The action comes after this week's deadly alligator attack at one of its resorts.

Wildlife officials still don't know if they're caught the gator that killed a 2-year-old boy.

As CBS2's Mark Strassman reported, Lane Graves was the first guest ever killed by alligator attack at Disney World.

The predators have long lurked in resort waters. An unverified social media post from 2009, purportedly shows an alligator near a Disney ride.

"I thought, 'no, this is Disney, it's safe, there's no way they would be stupid enough to have alligators in here," David Hiden said.

San Diego lawyer Davide Hiden was vacationing with his family in April of 2015, when two alligators chased his 5-year-old son.

"I saw something rapidly coming on him like a submarine and I looked and I went 'oh my god that's an alligator,' and then boom I just reacted and grabbed him, thank God," he said.

The family was staying at Disney's Coronado Springs resort, located three and a half miles from the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa where Graves was killed.

Hiden said he warned a hotel manager and showed her a photo that he took of one of the gators.

"And the response I couldn't believe, 'those are resident pets, we've known about them for years," he recalled.

There are no warning signs about alligators in the spot where Graves died on Thursday night.

On Thursday, Disney said it was 'conducting a swift and thorough review' of its procedures including 'the number, placement, and wording of our signage and warnings.'

Critics wonder why the company review took so long.

Paul Santamaria was attacked by an alligator at Disney World in 1986 when he was just 8-years-old.

"It came up out of the water and hit me, knocked me to the ground. It just started throwing me around, trying to pull me into the water. It's not easy to forget," he said.

In a statement, the parents of Lane Graves said, "words cannot describe the shock and grief our family is experiencing over the loss of our son."

They're devastated and any parent can relate. The beaches at Disney World remain closed.

 

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