A woman who grew up loving Sea World Orlando died when a 12,300-pound bull orca killer whale attacked her in front of a crowd, dragged her under water and killed her, according to reports.
The whale, named Tilikum, has reportedly killed two others before, including a man who breached Sea World security in 1999, and somehow ended up in the water with the whale. Tilikum reportedly mauled the man and ripped off his swim suit.
The trainer, Dawn Brancheau, 40, who died Wednesday, had 16 years of experience working with whales.
Animal rights groups like PETA have come out after the incident saying whales shouldn’t be kept in captivity.
KnightNews.com will update this story when we have more information, as many UCF students work at Sea World.