LAKE COUNTY, Fla. -- A 12-year-old boy died Wednesday night after a 10-foot alligator dragged him into the Dead River Canal in Tavares, Fla., according to Local 6 News.

Video

Gator Kills Boy In Central Fla. Why Gators Attack

Witnesses said that Brian Griffin was with friends at a boat ramp near the Palm Gardens Mobile Home Resort when the alligator grabbed Griffin's torso and pulled him into deeper water.

"The gator had surfaced out of the water completely and attacked the boy, the 12-year-old boy, that was there," Lake County sheriff's spokesman Mark Stauffer said. "It (alligator) took the boy in his mouth."

Lake County deputies said that boaters and rescue crews spotted the gator surfacing from the river's dark water with the boy in his jaws.

About 20 minutes after the attack, Griffin's body was located and immediately transported to Leesburg Regional Hospital.

"We tried as much as we could to get him to respond -- but nothing," Leesburg Regional Medical Center spokeswoman Desiree Cohen said. "Like I said, it's a tough night for all of us in Leesburg."

Sheriff's deputies pulled several alligators out of the river Wednesday night at 11:30 p.m. but they were not certain if they found the same alligator involved in the attack.

The attack was the first alligator fatality in Lake County since the state started keeping records in 1948. It happened as dangerous encounters with alligators are escalating with the end of mating season and the beginning of summer's torrential rain showers.

On Sunday, an 800-pound alligator killed a 120-pound dog along the Little Wekiva River in Altamonte Springs.

Watch Local 6 News for more on this breaking news story.