An alligator about 4.5 meters long in Clearwater in the US state of Florida alarmed the authorities. The incident came to light after a local resident reported seeing a huge alligator carrying a lifeless body in its mouth.

"I could see it had a body in its mouth, so I immediately started recording it and called the Largo Fire Department," JaMarcus Bullard told News 9.

Bullard, who said he saw the alligator while coming back from a job interview, said that emergency personnel pulled the huge alligator out of the water as soon as they arrived, adding, "While we were waiting in the distance, we heard a gunshot and I think they shot the alligator."

The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office confirmed that both the victim and the alligator were removed from the canal after the incident, but declined to say whether they were the ones who pulled the trigger.

Footage posted on social media showed the 4.5-meter alligator lying in a pool of blood next to investigators. The area where the alligator was found is located in Ridgecrest Park, which includes a 5-acre lake.

According to residents, huge alligators are often seen in the area, but the one neutralized this week was one of the largest, US media reported. Investigators are trying to determine the cause of death of the Florida resident whose lifeless body was found in the alligator's mouth.