A shark bit three people on a South Texas beach in what the city’s fire chief called an unprecedented Fourth of July incident, the same day another person was bitten by a shark in Florida, authorities said.
In Texas, three people were bitten in the town of South Padre Island, on a barrier island near Brownsville, and the shark was later located and “pushed into deeper water,” said Fire Chief Jim Pigg.
“It’s unprecedented here on South Padre Island,” he said. There were two shark bite incidents at different times and locations on Thursday, he said.
Police responded to a 911 call reporting “a serious shark bite to the leg” at 11 a.m., city spokeswoman Nikki Soto said, and the victim was taken to a local hospital.
After a second 911 call about a shark attack, firefighters found two people who had been bitten by a shark, Pigg said. They were also taken to a hospital.
Kyle Jud, 46, said he saw a woman pulled from the water who appeared to have a bite on her leg.
“The beach patrol lifted her up – her calf was just gone, shredded. Horrible,” Jud said. He posted a video of a shark in the water while a helicopter and boat patrolled.
One of the victims was taken from a Brownsville hospital for further treatment, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department said.
“Encounters of this nature with sharks are not a common occurrence in Texas,” the department said. “When shark bites occur, they are usually a case of mistaken identity by sharks searching for food.”
Pigg said it had not been determined what type of shark was involved and that an investigation was ongoing.
Lifeguards were encouraging people in South Padre Island, a beach town of about 2,000 people on the barrier island of the same name, to stay out of the water or at least not go deeper than knee-deep, Pigg said.
After the shark was spotted and pushed into deeper water, there were no further sightings, but Pigg said authorities would remain vigilant.
South Padre Island Mayor Patrick McNulty said, “Our hearts and prayers are with the injured and their families and we hope for a speedy recovery.”
In New Smyrna Beach, Florida, a 21-year-old man was bitten by a shark while playing football in knee-deep water around 4 p.m., said Tamra Malphurs, acting director of Volusia County Beach Safety.
The man, who was visiting the Atlantic coast city from Ohio, was taken to a hospital and his injuries are not believed to be life-threatening, Malphurs said.
There were 36 unprovoked shark attacks on humans in the U.S. last year, and two of those people died, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History’s International Shark Attack File. stated in its most recent annual report.
The project, which documents shark attacks around the world, says the risk of being attacked by a shark is relatively small, but that swimmers can further minimize the risk staying in groups and closer to the coast.
This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com read the full story
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