He jumped into the alligator pit at a Florida theme park. Then cops were on his trail
A Louisiana man seen on video jumping into an alligator enclosure last week at Busch Gardens in Tampa was arrested more than a week later.
According to the Tampa police, 20-year-old Jacob Pursifull entered the alligator area while his companion recorded the event on the afternoon of May 31.
The now-deleted video was widely shared to one of his TikTok accounts as well as other social media sites, helping detectives identify Pursifull.
In a different clip shot by a bystander, you see the young man at the edge of the water near the gators, continuously yelling “Crikey!” imitating late Australian “Crocodile Hunter” Steve Irwin.
“You got to get back out!” yelled a concerned man in the crowd that is safely behind two fences.
“It’s very dangerous!” says a woman next to him. “Please come out!”
“Another wild Karen!” shouts Pursifull gleefully as onlookers nervously giggle and point their cameras at him.
After the wild “Jackass” style stunt, the intruder left the theme park with his two friends and upload the video. But police were on his trail.
“Following investigative leads based on the linked social media posts, investigators were able to positively identify and locate Pursifull,” Tampa police said in a statement. “A probable cause warrant was issued for his arrest.”
Detectives apprehend Pursifull about 20 miles north of downtown Tampa on Monday evening. The Prairieville resident was charged with burglary, theft of services and trespass, and booked into Orient Road Jail on $8,500 bond, according to the Hillsborough County court records.
Busch Gardens called the incident a “blatant disregard of safety rules.”
“On May 31, a guest violated park policy with complete disregard for the safety of himself, our employees and our animals by jumping two fences and entering one of our animal habitats despite clear do not enter signage and multiple barriers indicating it was a restricted access area,” the statement said. “Our security and animal care teams responded immediately. No injuries were sustained by the guest, our employees or our animals.”
This story was originally published June 9, 2023 at 12:40 PM.
