Alligator Charges at Texas Girl Scout Group During Swim: 'I Was Thinking, This Is the Day I Die'

A Texas Girl Scout troop might be due for a new badge after they escaped an alligator on Saturday.

The terrifying close encounter occurred while Troop 114204 was on an overnight camping trip to explore Huntsville State Park, NBC affiliate KPRC-TV reported. 

The group was swimming in the water at Lake Raven when the alligator, which was estimated to be 12 to 14 feet long, charged toward them.

“There was no doubt in my mind that that alligator was not going to try and eat somebody,” troop leader Nichole Glenn told the outlet.

Video footage from the ordeal showed the girls screaming and running out of the water as the gator approached, while the person recording the video could be heard saying, "This is an emergency."

David Siljeg, who filmed the video, told Storyful that he expected the gator to flee once it saw people rushing out of the water, but that was not the case. "It was aiming quickly toward the little kids," Siljeg said.

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"I was thinking, this is the day I die," Ava Miller, 11, told KPRC-TV.

Glenn also put herself in between the alligator and another troop member, Erin White, who jumped into the water as the gator approached the group, unaware of what was going on.

"I made sure if he was going to eat somebody, he would eat me first," Glenn said while speaking with Insider.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department told KPRC-TV that the swimming area was closed for the rest of the day.

Several unwelcome alligators from the state park have previously been removed, and the agency is discussing whether it is necessary to do it again, according to the station. Another change being considered is adding more signage warning of alligators in the area.

The TPWD, the Girl Scouts and the park did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's requests for comment. 

Even after the initial chaos, the troop leader said it took hours for them to calm down — and some of the girls still have mixed feelings about getting back in the water again to swim.

The gator, which they named "Karen," still taught the kids a valuable lesson, per KPRC-TV. "I should probably focus on my surroundings more," White said.

Glenn added that while she always said she loved the girls "to death" and "would do anything" for them, she now knows it wasn't hyperbole.