Gator Attacks Child, 6-year-old Boy Attacked By Alligator at Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, Saved By Good Samaritan

6-year-old, Joey Welch, was attacked by a Florida Alligator at Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, in Boynton Beach on Friday afternoon during a canoeing trip with his father.

Joey was about to go canoeing and he fell in the shallow water near the dock when the alligator attacked.

"I went in it and there was a splash. The alligator just swam into me and clamped my arm," he told Florida's Local 10 News Station.

"He just swam to me and clamped my arm.  He didn't wait for a second," little Joey said, according to The Huffington Post.

His father, Joseph Welch, jumped into the water when he realized what was going on and began punching the alligator before more help arrived.

"I heard these blood-curdling screams and I saw this gator that had his right arm in his jaw and I just freaked," Welch said, according to The Huffington Post.

"[Then,] this good Samaritan kicked the gator underneath the belly about 3 to 4 times, and the gator decided after getting kicked and punched, he finally released him and I was able to get my son and walk to shore," Welch added to Local 10.

Joey was taken to Holy Cross Hospital and the doctors there marveled, saying it was a miracle that his arm hadn't been torn off completely, Local 10 reports.

The alligator was 8-feet-long and about 200 pounds, according to Yahoo! News.

"He could have squished my son's arm like a cracker," Welch told Local 10.

Joey only suffered minor injuries from the attack, Local 10 reports.

His mother, Jackie Welch, told WSVN 7 that she believes there was an angel watching over her son during the terrifying scare.  "Why my son has an arm today?  Why he doesn't have puncture marks? It's a miracle," she said.

Local 10 reports that the alligator was found and killed later on by authorities as a consequence for its aggressive behavior.

The station also reports that a Florida teen last year suffered more serious injuries after being attacked by a 10-foot alligator in the Caloosahatchee River in Moore Haven.