LAKELAND, FLORIDA — The brother-in-law of a Florida man attacked by an alligator has launched an online campaign to raise $100,000 to get him a prosthetic arm.
Jesse Kinsinger, 21, lost most of his left arm in the attack when he ignored warning signs not to swim across a lake in Lakeland, Polk County on Wednesday night, the Orlando Sentinel reported.
Family members told Fox 13 the sorry tale had its roots four years ago, when Kinsinger was shot twice during a home invasion.
Kinsinger takes medication for post-traumatic stress disorder and usually doesn't drink alcohol. But he did on Wednesday night, which triggered an episode, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
When his mother called police to come and detain him, Kinsinger ran away.
He ran into woods near his home while police looked for him with a helicopter and bloodhounds, Fox 13 reported.
Thinking he was being chased by the police, Kinsinger tried to swim across a lake, where he was attacked by an alligator. He lost his left forearm in the attack but managed to escape by kicking the beast in the snout.
Kinsinger's brother-in-law Mike Taylor has launched a GoFundMe appeal to raise money for a prosthetic arm, but judging by some of the snarky comments on the page, he might need a bit of luck hitting the $100,000 target.
"Yeah ... I don't think so idiot. I'll already have to pay for this because you don't carry insurance," wrote Jeff Gardner.
Another visitor to the page, Shannelle DeWitt, wrote: "Really he ran from the police it was all over the news I understand the news said he isn't mentally stable. Sorry but NO."
However, a poster named Bigman Bruteforce replied to the haters that Kinsinger was a "wonderful person."
As of Friday morning the GoFundMe page had raised $400.
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