South Jersey school placed on lockdown when visiting alligator got rough

    “When it was all said and done, the man went back home with his alligator.”

    That is not some strange punchline to a joke. It’s what Berlin Community School Superintendent Tony Trongone told the Courier-Post after an alligator visiting the school bit its handler and caused the school to go into lockdown.

    Something tells us that will make it to the “Remember when…” page of the school’s yearbook.

    For the South Jersey school’s Science Week, a popular animal handler visited with the 6-foot alligator in tow. And while  eighth graders looked on, the gator got a bit aggressive and bit the handler.

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    No injuries to speak of — just some torn pants — put the students were pulled from the room and the school was placed on lockdown until things got back under control.

    It’ll likely be the last visit for the handler, who packed the gator up in its cage and headed home.

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