10-Year-Old Boy Attacked by Shark Inside Popular Resort’s Shark Tank

A 10-year-old Maryland boy was attacked by a shark in the Bahamas. The incident occurred just after 4 p.m. on Monday at the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island, according to a press release from local authorities. The shark apparently bit the unidentified child on his right leg while he was “participating in an expedition in a Shark Tank.”

“We saw the shark hone in on him, and then just a pool of blood afterwards,” Tori Massie, who was in the tank during the attack, recounted to Today. She recalled the excursion beginning on a fairly relaxed note, but, “Once the little boy came [into the water], it took a dark turn.”

After the attack, the rest of the participants rushed from the tank while the injured boy and his parents were quickly whisked to a nursing station at the resort. The victim was later transported to a local hospital, where he is currently listed in stable condition.

Today reported that the “Walking With Sharks” expedition was run by a third-party company, Blue Adventures by Stuart Cove. The resort’s website has removed any reference to the exhibit, but previously advertised it as an "easy and fun" opportunity for those with "no swimming experience" to "see Caribbean reef sharks and nurse sharks up close."

Gavin Naylor, director of the Florida Program for Shark Research at the Florida Museum, told NBC that attacks such as this one are fairly rare. "I’m a little surprised that there haven’t been more of these accidents," he specified. "People should remember that these are not pets. They’re not trainable. These are wild animals that are contained in an aquarium."

An investigation into the attack is ongoing. Local officials could not immediately specify what protections, if any, were in place during the activity.