PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — A Florida firefighter and paramedic is speaking out after he was attacked by an alligator.
Read: Alligator hunting season starts in Florida with expanded time, weapons
Two weeks after the attack in Pinellas County, JC Defeats is back home and recovering.
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Defeats is now talking about what happened earlier this month, when he was shooting an instructional video.
Photos: Florida firefighter and paramedic describes alligator attack
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His friend was shooting video from above and captured a 12-foot alligator heading straight for Defeats.
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“All I felt was scales, teeth,” Defeats said. “What I felt like I did was that I immediately tried to open its jaws because I knew I was in a gator.
Defeats underwent an emergency six-hour surgery.
Watch: Manatee ‘chases’ alligator as both swim in Florida state park
He will need another surgery and is wearing a helmet to protect the right side of his head.
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