A 12-year-old boy helped soothe a fearful South Carolina community Thursday when he, alongside his grandfather, wrangled an 8-foot alligator that just one day before had attacked a woman out walking her dogs.

Joey Maffo was right there with his grandfather Joe, who runs Hilton Head Island’s Critter Management, on Thursday when he bagged the wild beast responsible for biting resident Tamra Shattuck on Wednesday.

The heroic effort took the Maffos a four hours and the gator managed to break five of their hooks in the process after the brave seventh grader first snagged it in an area lagoon.

Brave: 12-year-old Joey Maffo hooked this 8-foot alligator and gets a little help wrangling it from his grandfather Joe Maffo. The gator bit a woman Wednesday.

Relieved: Tamra Shattuck was out walking her dogs on Hilton Head Island on Wednesday when the gator lunged from the water and bit her foot before retreating

It all went down at Hilton Head Plantation, a private community on South Carolina’s tony Hilton Head Island.

Shattuck was housesitting for friends when she went out with her two dogs for a stroll around the lagoon, according to IslandPacket.com.

As she stood several feet from the edge of the water, she heard a splash and then saw teeth coming at her.

‘I have been deployed twice and taken fire in the war,’ Shattuck said, ‘but this was by far the scariest thing I’ve ever been through.’

Vanquished: Joey Maffo snagged the gator with a hook in a South Carolina lagoon. The beast has now been killed as per state law

She quickly decided to fend off the creature with her fist, then changed her mind.

Deciding a kick would be better, she aimed for the gator and struck. The next thing she knew, she was on the ground.

The gator managed to bite Shattuck’s ankle before retreating back to the water and the rattled Shattuck was left with some minor puncture wounds, but otherwise unharmed.

As for her two dogs, they were okay too.

When the Maffos showed up Wednesday, they set up three snares but were unable to finally snag the gator until Thursday.

Joe Maffo said that, in addition to the gator, he and Joey found a clutch of 40 to 60 eggs.

As per South Carolina law, the alligator was later killed. No word yet on whether Joey intends to bring it to show and tell.

Read more:Daily Mail