Tiger shark takes a bite out of surfer's leg at Long Island beach in SECOND ATTACK in 10 days
Another shark attack on Long Island got reported on Wednesday, July 13, after a paddleboarder suffered a four-inch bite from a four-foot shark in the waters off Smith Point Beach in Suffolk County. The incident, which took place around 7.30 am when no lifeguards were on duty, comes after a July 3 shark attack when a lifeguard got injured during a training exercise, leading to the closure of two beaches.
The unidentified victim, a 41-year-old man who believes his attacker was a sand tiger shark about four feet long, was rushed to Long Island Community Hospital in Patchogue by an ambulance. Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone informed at a news conference that the beach “is once again closed to swimming due to a shark bite that occurred earlier this morning.” In addition to closing the beach and prohibiting swimming there, officials also posted signs warning future beachgoers about dangerous marine life, CBS News reported. With the onset of warm weather on the US east coast, scientists and researchers have warned beachgoers about the arrival of white sharks.
ALSO READ
Anesthetist filmed sexually assaulting pregnant woman after heavily sedating her during C-section
Who is Kyle Moorman? Dad and 3 children missing during fishing trip, family offers $10K reward
Narrating the details of how the attack took place, Bellone said, "He was knocked off his board and then he saw this shark coming back around towards him and at that moment felt very fortunate that a wave came in and helped push him towards the shore." “[The surfer] saw the shark coming back around toward him after that initial bite occurred and then at that moment, fortunately, a wave hit that carried the surfer and the paddle board into shore and that was the last contact with the shark," Bellone elaborated. A reporter with the CBS News says, he may have even punched the predator for attacking him.
One beachgoer told CBS News that it's now "something you've got to be expecting when you're in the water. I saw him this morning when he was by the booth getting medical treatment, but, you know, looked like just a small bite on his leg, I think a couple of inches. It happens. It's nothing that makes me that nervous. I'm going to keep coming to the beach and going in the water anyway."
Chief lifeguard Kevin Kolar too shared the details. He said, “He was able to come out of the water on his own. He was assisted out. The ambulance at the time brought him to the hospital.” Talking about the victim’s health status, Michael Neuhaus of Shirley Community Ambulance said, "He was transported to Long Island Community Hospital in a non-critical status.”
TOP STORIES
'Thor: Love and Thunder': Fans slammed for demanding trigger warning for CHEMOTHERAPY scene
Who is Felix Rubio? Video shows Uvalde police restraining cop who tried to save daughter
First encounter
On July 3, a 10-year-old lifeguard, Zack Gallo, participating in a training exercise off Smith Point Beach was attacked by what was described as a four to five-foot long shark, which bit him on the chest. The attack occurred when he was enacting the role of victim during the training exercise, Bellone said, adding that the shark also bit Gallo’s right hand as the lifeguard tried to fend it off. Gallo was able to make it to shore with assistance from fellow lifeguards. Bellone had further said, “I think it is an indication that what we’re looking at is something of a new normal in that sharks … are closer to shore than they’ve been.”