Florida teen hospitalized after possible shark attack just 60 miles from world's 'SHARK CAPITAL'
CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA: A teenager was hospitalized Tuesday evening, July 19, after a possible shark attack in Brevard County. The 17-year-old boy, who has not been identified, suffered injuries from a potential shark bite around 10:45 am on Tuesday and was taken to Cape Canaveral hospital with minor injuries, according to Canaveral Fire Rescue. The injured teen was taken to the hospital by ambulance while lifeguards began warning swimmers of the danger, witnesses said.
ALSO READ
Hayley Hasselhoff shows off her famous curves as she shatters beauty standards at Miami Swim Week
"Right as we were walking down, we were talking to some lifeguards and we overheard them saying that guy got bit on his arm right about here some, and it was gushing blood and whatnot,” witness Jayden Malendez told WESH. "The lifeguard came out on the ATV and said there was a shark bite about a hundred yards from where we were sitting,” beachgoer Karen Kwader added.
According to beach officials, the incident took place about 20 yards south of Jetty Park on a section of the beach that is not lifeguarded. The injured teenager walked with his family to the Jetty Park lifeguard tower to seek help. "I saw the lifeguards come out and whistle this morning. I didn't know what it was about. Now, I assume it was the shark sighting,” beachgoer Heather Shaw told WESH. The potential shark attack worried beachgoers, but some shrugged it off. "I mean, I hear that it happens around here, so I wouldn't say it's surprising but it's concerning as a mom, as a parent,” beachgoer Angelina Whalen told the outlet. "This is Florida, it doesn't surprise me,” Kwader added.
Teen suffers possible shark bite at Cape Canaveral https://t.co/HhqoEULvVk
— WESH 2 News (@WESH) July 20, 2022
Cape Canaveral is located around 60 miles from New Smyrna Beach, which has been dubbed the shark capital of the world. That said, Florida has experienced a spate of shark maulings in recent months. 40-year-old Tasa Summers was vacationing in Daytona Beach when she was attacked by a shark on July 16 and sustained non-life-threatening injuries. She told WESH that she "didn't see anything in the water" before the attack. Last month, 17-year-old Addison Bethea was forced to have her leg amputated after being mauled by a shark while scalloping with her brother. And Lindsay Bruns, a mother-of-two, sustained a half-circle-shaped wound after being attacked in June.
TOP STORIES
Republican bill requires fathers to pay child support for UNBORN BABIES
There was another shark scare on Tuesday, when a surfer suffered a grazed leg while a spinner shark was hunting a bait ball off the coast of North Carolina. However, officials later revealed the woman didn't suffer a shark bite and took herself to a hospital for treatment. Speaking to McClatchy News, Surf City Fire Chief Allen Wilson explained that spinner sharks aren't aggressive and that they hunt fish with their mouths open. They are also known to leap up to 20 feet out of the water. Wilson said the surfer in question was in the “wrong place at the wrong time," the Charlotte Observer reported.