Young man arrested for jumping into Florida zoo's alligator pond to record video
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Tampa police said Tuesday that on June 1 Jacob Pursifull, 20, jumped a fence to 'illegally' enter Busch Gardens animal and entertainment park.
A Florida youth trespassed into an alligator pond at a popular Tampa theme park to record a video, which later went viral on social media, was arrested and charged with trespassing and other crimes, authorities said.
In a statement, police in Tampa (on the west coast of Florida) said Tuesday that on June 1, 20-year-old Jacob Pursifull jumped a fence to enter “illegally” to the Busch Gardens amusement and animal park in the aforementioned city.
After entering the theme park,
Pursifull entered the venue while one of his friends was filming the “event,”, according to the statement.
The video quickly circulated online, as reported by the local channel Tampa Bay 10.
Krazy dude trys to be the Croc Hunter by jumping the fence into alligator habitat at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay while speaking ðŸ—£ï¸ in an Australian accent 🤦 #trending #viral #viralshorts #dumbwaystodie #dumb #donttrythisathome pic.twitter.com/1B5CKfZFm5
— Demon ™â• (@MLGDemon_D) June 3, 2023
“Following investigative leads based on the linked social media posts, investigators were able to identify and locate (…) Pursifull”, thus the A warrant was issued for his arrest, police said.
Detectives were able to arrest Pursifull Monday, who was charged and taken to the Orient Road Jail in Tampa.
This is not the first time a person is arrested at Busch Gardens.
In 2016, Joseph Carrao, a man visiting the park with his family, was arrested after grabbing a flamingo by its feathers and throwing it to the ground, and was charged with cruelty to animals.
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is an animal theme park designed around African and Asian themes, which opened in June 1959 and is operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment.