Search for alligator in East Bay creek ends in its death

A 4-foot alligator that animal control officers said presented a public danger was shot and killed Tuesday morning in an overgrown creek in Fremont, authorities said. The alligator was shot shortly after 11 a.m. by an unidentified state wildlife officer, according to Steve Gonzalez, spokesman for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. The alligator, first spotted on Monday as it sunbathed on a flat rock, was the subject of an intense two-day search by Alameda sheriff’s deputies, Fremont police officers and state wildlife officers. The alligator was spotted by a citizen on Monday and seen again on Tuesday by two Fremont police animal officers, police spokeswoman Geneva Bosques said. The area where it was shot is adjacent to the popular Alameda Creek Regional Trail, several homes and a mobile home park.