POLK COUNTY, Fla. —

A Florida man was shot and killed by deputies on Monday after they say he was armed with garden shears and acting erratically after surviving an apparent gator attack.

Polk County Sheriff’s Office deputies began searching for Timothy Schultz, 42, just before 6 a.m. after a convenience store clerk reported he was acting "bizarre."

Deputies spent about 40 minutes looking for the man, WFLA reports.

Schultz then began swimming in an alligator-infested lake, nearby residents told officials.

A witness tried to throw Schultz a life preserver and another witness said Schultz growled at them when they tried to help, the sheriff's office said.

Witnesses told deputies an alligator was spotted close to him as he swam across the lake.

Schultz emerged from the lake with an a

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