An unidentified 14-year-old Floridian endured a harrowing shark attack on Monday at the Ponce Inlet while participating in lifeguard training camp.
A Florida teenager was viciously attacked by a shark during lifeguard training camp, The New York Post reported.
Around 11 a.m. on Monday, a 14-year-old boy, who has not been publicly identified, dove into the water at the Ponce Inlet, a beach in Florida’s Volusia County. He was participating in the Junior Lifeguard Camp, according to officials.
When the young man dove into the water, he happened to land directly on top of the hungry shark, which quickly clamped its jaws down on the victim’s calf. Thanks to the victim’s quick instincts at the intervention of those on the scene, the 14-year-old didn’t sustain any serious or lasting injuries. He was treated for his lacerations on the scene and then transported to an area hospital for further evaluation.
Witnesses say the shark was a Black Tip, which are tremendously common in the area, that measured between four and five feet in length. “Volusia County is the home of more shark attacks than anywhere else in Florida,” The Daytona Beach News-Journal reported, adding that nearby New Smyrna beach is “the unofficial shark bite capital of the world.”
Last year, Florida saw 16 confirmed, unprovoked shark attacks. The total number of confirmed shark attacks worldwide in 2023 was 69.
In June, pro surfer and Pirates of the Caribbean star Tamayo Perry died after a fatal shark attack in Hawaii, which follows Florida on the list of states in which shark attacks are most common. Over the July 4th holiday, a single shark is believed to have attacked four separate people in Texas, leaving two with serious injuries.
