LAKELAND, FLORIDA — A career criminal somehow survived an alligator attack, then died in a hail of bullets by deputies shortly after he charged them with garden shears, according to multiple reports. Timothy Schultz, 42, was apparently high on meth, according to Polk County sheriff Grady Judd, when the deputies were forced to open fire on the man.

A Florida man who was apparently bitten while swimming in alligator-infested waters Monday morning was fatally shot after officials said he emerged from the lake and charged at sheriff's deputies with garden shears.

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd reports deputies shot Timothy Shultz, who attacked them with shears after an alligator encounter and attempted vehicle break-in.