Apartment complex holds vigil for alligator

To quote from an AP News report:

Several dozen people gathered Saturday at an apartment complex along the South Carolina coast to remember a longtime resident who died the day before — an alligator named Walter who sunned beside a pond on the property for more than a decade.

Walter was killed on the property after several complaints over the past week, the management of Daniel Island Village told WCIV-TV in a statement.

Neighbors in the apartment complex near Charleston said Walter had been hanging around the complex for more than a decade, not only earning a name but a little fame.

Vigil organizer Rebekah Cole told the TV station that people with pets and children could walk right past Walter and not be bothered.

“He was a piece of the community. Even though he was a cold-blooded animal, we all loved him and it tore us all up,” Cole said.

And this, from The Washington Post’s coverage:

Dozens gathered around a South Carolina pond on a warm evening this month, some crying and others holding stuffed alligators and ribbons — mementos meant to honor Walter’s life. A few people who were close to Walter stood in front of the group to deliver speeches, including Rebekah Cole.

“It’s so upsetting that he was taken from us,” Cole recalled saying. “He was a part of our community, and it will never be the same.”

They held a moment of silence before turning on their cellphone flashlights and walking a few feet to the part of the pond where Walter, an alligator, sunbathed daily and kept to itself.