A 10-foot-long, 500-pound alligator that had been tormenting a Florida family for five years has been killed at their home.

The huge reptile was captured on September 6 by a friend who had just obtained his state alligator hunting license.

Craig and Chrissy Masse nicknamed the alligator Albert when it began turning up at their home on Cornelius Boulevard in Port Charlotte. But one day, it lunged at Chrissy while she was working in the backyard.

"Chrissy was cutting the grass over there and he came right at her," Craig Masse told NBC2.

"And I was mowing to get ready to turn around; he just popped up," added Chrissy.

Alligators can be found in all 67 counties of Florida, as well as parts of Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and the Carolinas. The largest males can grow to 14 feet and Florida's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission estimates that there are around 1.3 million alligators in the state.

The FWC states that alligator-human interactions are becoming far more frequent because of an increase in the state's human population—many of whom live in waterfront properties, like the Masse family.

Serious injuries caused by the reptiles are rare in Florida, according to the FWC. It puts the chances of being attacked by an unprovoked alligator at roughly one in 3.1 million. Between 1948 and 2021, it recorded 442 unprovoked bite incidents in Florida, with 26 of those fatal.

However, due to alligators' size and strength, attacks can result in loss of limbs or other life-altering injuries.

"We just see him all the time. He's very aggressive," Chrissy said. "We have two Labradors. Those are my kids."

When Albert made his way into water near their backyard on September 6, the Masses decided to take action, calling their friend Ron Ollerenshaw for help.

Craig said: "She says, 'He's here! Call Ron.' I got stuff ready and there he was. Ron and Chop [another friend] came flying here and we got him."

They caught the alligator with fishing lines and attempted to hold it in place.

"I shot him a couple times with the arrows with a cord on it," Ollerenshaw told NBC2.

They had to use an excavator to haul the enormous animal out of the water and into the back of a truck. Albert was then killed.

"I wanted Albert gone. I was so happy," Chrissy said.

"Thank God for Ron," Craig said. "He got his license! Yeah, brother!"

Alligators are federally protected as a threatened species, because of their close similarity to the American crocodile.

However, individuals can apply for a statewide alligator hunt permit that allows them to hunt and kill alligators legally across most of Florida.

Ollerenshaw is planning to keep Albert's 40-pound head as a trophy, according to NBC2.

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