A 10-year-old beachgoer visiting Florida from Georgia was bitten by a shark on Wednesday while in chest deep water, just days after a series of attacks took place further up the coast in North Carolina.
The incident transpired around 1 p.m., when the boy was swimming in shallow water off Daytona Beach Shores, according to ABC News . He apparently felt something bite into his calf, which would turn out to be a small shark , of indeterminate species.
10-year-old boy attacked by shark in Florida. #sharkattacks http://t.co/HB3eQYtfes pic.twitter.com/VBNZ3cEzYv
— WSLS (@wsls) June 18, 2015
“I heard him start yelling as we were walking back out and he said something bit him,” the boy’s father, Kenneth Wood, related. “I was scared there for a while. Now I know he’s all right.”
Volusia County Beach Safety Ocean Rescue was called, and the boy was treated for his shark-induced injuries at the scene. The lacerations were minor enough, however, that he did not need to be transported to a hospital.
What’s causing North Carolina & Florida shark accidents? https://t.co/dkqpADNYXB pic.twitter.com/vJDupfaimk
— Dr Reese Halter (@DrReeseHalter) June 15, 2015
The attack, while minor, is the fourth reported shark incident in Volusia County this year, according to NBC News . The area has been dubbed the “shark bite capital of the world” by the International Shark Attack File, which is curated at the Florida Museum of Natural History at the University of Florida. The title does not convey, however, that the vast majority of shark interactions that take place in the region lead to only minor bites, from small species of shark that do not fatally attack humans. Florida has not experienced a fatal shark attack since February, 2010, when a kitesurfer was attacked by a bull shark in Martin County.
A shark expert reveals how to handle an attack: ‘swim to shore as fast as you can’ http://t.co/41UfQB7rB6 pic.twitter.com/baMvYzj4Pk
— People magazine (@people) June 17, 2015
Last week, several shark attacks were reported along the North Carolina coastline that proved to be anything but minor. As the Inquisitr previously reported, a 12-year-old girl and a 16-year-old boy were attacked on the same stretch of beach, less than two miles and two hours apart. Their injuries were life threatening, and while both survived the attacks, their shark encounters cost them both an arm. Those incidents were preceded by another, which happened days before, when a 10-year-old girl was attacked by a small shark while boogie boarding.
Last year, Florida topped the list of states reporting shark attacks, with 28 incidents. Most of those attacks resulted in bites by smaller species of shark, and their frequency can be attributed to Florida’s year-round appeal to beachgoers.
[Photo via Spencer Platt / Getty Images]
