Turkeys terrorize Longwood neighborhood

LONGWOOD, Fla. – Just about everyone in the Wingfield Reserve neighborhood in Longwood has a turkey story, as the the fowl is no longer being friendly to some.

Neighbors said the wild turkeys have been seen charging at children and pecking at cars. 

"They just came up and circled around us," Avri Justice said.  

"The whole thing is crazy," said Kristen Haynes. 

"They were just big and really scaring me," added Reagan Haynes.

"Everybody who is outside or drives their car through the neighborhood has been stopped by the turkeys," Katie Justice said. "We've had bears, all kinds of wildlife, deer all the time, but turkeys are not anything I ever could've imagined that we would have a problem with."

For this quiet neighborhood in Seminole County, the turkeys started showing up several weeks ago and the problem only seems to be getting worse.

"It's really becoming a problem, they're mean and really aggressive," Katie Justice said. 

While most of the turkeys appear quiet and calm, neighbors say it's the select few of them that are terrorizing the community.

"Scary to let our kids play in the front yard because we don't know if the turkeys are going to be there," Haynes said. "They're going to show up and start chasing the kids." 

Officials with Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission are asking people who live in the community to not feed the turkeys and if you encounter them, just try to raise your voice or squirt a water bottle at them to scare them off. 

Officials with FWC tell News 6 they plan to visit the neighborhood later this week and take a closer look at what can be done.