You’ve seen the memes. You’ve probably even done the "birthday challenge" where you type your birth date and "Florida Man" into Google just to see what kind of chaos the universe assigned to you at birth.
But if your birthday happens to be May 27, honestly, you’ve got one of the heaviest cards in the deck.
It’s not just a day for petty theft or weird alligator sightings. For May 27, the Florida Man stories range from the tragically bizarre to the genuinely terrifying. We’re talking about "rampages" that feel like they were scripted for a gritty HBO crime drama, only there’s way more swamp water and yard tools involved.
The 2025 Lakeland Incident: Alligators, Shears, and a Stolen Patrol Car
Let’s talk about Timothy Schulz. This is probably the most high-profile May 27 Florida Man event in recent memory, and it’s basically the "final boss" of Florida stories.
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On May 26 and 27, 2025, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd—who is a bit of a local celebrity for his no-nonsense, often colorful press conferences—had to explain a sequence of events that most people wouldn’t believe if they saw it in a movie.
It started early. Like, 6:00 a.m. early.
Schulz was at a convenience store acting "bizarre," shaking, and asking to call his son. By the time deputies got there, he was gone. But he wasn't far. About two hours later, residents in a gated community in Lakeland called 911 because they saw a man swimming across a lake.
This wasn’t just any lake. It was a lake full of alligators.
A witness actually tried to throw the guy a life preserver. Schulz didn't want it. Instead, he reportedly "growled" at another neighbor who tried to talk to him.
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The Rampage Continues
When he finally emerged from the water, things didn't calm down. He had been bitten on the right arm by an alligator—significantly, according to the sheriff—but he didn't seem to care. He was apparently fueled by methamphetamine, which, as Sheriff Judd famously put it, makes the person "out of their mind."
Schulz grabbed a pair of garden shears from a neighbor's yard. He tried to smash a truck window with a brick.
When deputies finally cornered him, he didn't surrender. He charged them with the shears. They tried to Taser him—twice—but it didn't stop him.
The situation turned fatal when Schulz managed to climb into the passenger side of a running patrol vehicle. He started reaching for the department-issued rifle and shotgun inside the car. That was the line. The deputies opened fire through the windshield, and Schulz was killed on the scene.
The Anniversary of the "Miami Zombie" (May 26-27)
While the Schulz incident happened in 2025, May 27 is also the date the world was still reeling from the "Miami Zombie" attack back in 2012.
Technically, the actual attack on Ronald Poppo by Rudy Eugene happened on May 26, but the news cycle—and the birth of the modern "Florida Man" legend—exploded on May 27. It’s the event that basically defined the genre.
People were convinced it was a zombie outbreak.
The police initially blamed "bath salts," a synthetic drug that was the boogeyman of the early 2010s. Later toxicology reports only found marijuana in Eugene's system, leaving the sheer brutality of the 18-minute attack on the MacArthur Causeway a disturbing mystery.
It’s the dark side of the meme. We laugh at the guys trying to use alligators as bottle openers, but May 27 reminds everyone that these headlines often involve deep-seated issues like mental health crises and the devastating impact of the meth epidemic in rural and suburban Florida.
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Why May 27 Always Seems to Be "Wild"
Is there something in the water? Probably not.
But there is something in the law. Florida’s Government in the Sunshine Act (specifically Chapter 119 of the Florida Statutes) makes arrest records and police logs incredibly easy for journalists to access.
In other states, if a guy gets bitten by a gator and then tries to steal a cop car with garden shears, it might stay a local secret. In Florida, it’s on a reporter’s desk by lunch.
May is also that sweet spot in Florida. The humidity is starting to crank up. The heat is becoming "oppressive." Tempers get short. When you mix 90-degree heat with high humidity and a lack of air conditioning (or a lack of judgment), you get the perfect recipe for a May 27 Florida Man headline.
What You Can Learn From the May 27 Madness
If you find yourself in Florida around late May, or if you’re just a fan of the "Florida Man" lore, there are some actual takeaways here beyond the shock value.
- Respect the Wildlife: If a sign says there are gators in the lake, believe the sign. Even if you're "high on life" (or something else), an alligator does not care about your vibe.
- The Power of Public Records: These stories exist because of transparency laws. While they make for great memes, they also keep the public informed about what’s happening in their communities—even the ugly parts.
- Substance Abuse is No Joke: Sheriff Grady Judd’s briefings might be entertaining, but the underlying stories are usually about people who have fallen through the cracks. The Timothy Schulz story is a tragedy of addiction as much as it is a "weird news" item.
If you’re looking to dive deeper into the local history of Lakeland or the specifics of the 2025 incident, checking the official Polk County Sheriff’s Office social media feeds usually provides the most direct (and unvarnished) information. They often post the actual photos of the scenes—like the shattered windshield of the patrol car—to show exactly what deputies were facing.
Stay safe, stay hydrated, and maybe stay out of the lakes.
Next Steps:
If you want to understand the legal side of why these stories go viral, I can break down the specific Florida Sunshine Laws that make these arrest records public. Or, if you're interested in the wildlife aspect, I can look up the official FWC (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission) protocols for dealing with nuisance alligators in residential areas.