July 5 (UPI) — Texas officials said three people are believed to have been injured in shark attacks in the waters off South Padre Island on the Fourth of July. A fourth person was bitten in Florida.
The South Padre Island Police Department said a report of a severe shark bite to the leg came in at about 11 a.m. Thursday.
A man was the victim in that attack and police and fire first responders treated him at the scene before he was taken to Valley Regional Medical Center in Brownsville, according to police.
South Padre Island Fire Chief Jim Pigg said three people were bitten Thursday.
“It’s unprecedented here on South Padre Island,” Pigg said.
He added that they happened different times and in different places Thursday.
Kyle Jud saw an injured woman pulled from the water.
“Beach patrol lifted her up — her calf was just gone, shredded. Horrific,” Jud said.
A man in Smyrna Beach, Fla., suffered non-life threatening injuries when a shark bit him as he stood in knee-deep water playing football, rescuers said.
Tamra Malphurs, interim director of Volusia County Beach Safety said the 21-year-old man was taken to a hospital.
South Padre Island Mayor Patrick McNulty said the town’s hearts and prayers are with the people who were injured as he wished them speedy recoveries.
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department said in a statement, “Shark encounters of this nature are not a common occurrence in Texas. When bites from sharks do occur, they are usually a case of mistaken identity by sharks looking for food.”
The department’s statement added. “If you see large schools of bait near the shore, this typically an indicator a predator is nearby, or if you see a shark in the water, calmly exit the water and wait for the predatory wildlife to pass.”