A shark bit a 10-year-old boy swimming in waist-deep water on the Florida coast on Sunday, resulting in significant injury to his lower leg.
NBC News reported that the boy was visiting Lori Wilson Park in Cocoa Beach when the shark struck, possibly twice. He was soon airlifted to the hospital.
"It was definitely one of the worst ones that we’ve seen in our area that we’ve responded to, mainly because of the size of the bite," said Ocean Rescue Assistant Chief Eisen Witcher.
Witcher said that lifeguards responded immediately to the boy, who was calling out in pain. After bringing him ashore, they bandaged his left calf and lower leg to stop the bleeding.
"My daughter and I were way out on a surfboard and two big waves came in. On the second big wave, we saw what looked to be a juvenile bull shark," witness Stephanie Yelenosky
told WFTV-TV. "About 15 seconds later we saw a group of people in knee-high water and we heard screaming, so we knew that the shark probably had gotten confused or scared and took a bite at somebody."
Yelenosky and Witcher both said the shark appeared to be a bull shark, likely a juvenile.
The beach was closed for roughly an hour immediately following the attack, however swimmers and beachgoers returned to the water later in the day with no incident.
Witcher said there have been roughly 10 shark bites in Brevard County this year, however none seemed to be as severe as this one.
"The kid handled it as best as he could. He did great and I think the family did great. The lifeguard and Brevard Fire Rescue did awesome. They were right on top of it," said Yelenosky. "I’m born and raised in Orlando and this is shark territory. We’re invading them and we try to be as respectful as we can. Accidents happen and that’s all this was. It was an unfortunate accident."
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