A suspected shark attack occurred at Jones Beach State Park in New York on Friday, resulting in a severe foot injury to a swimmer. The incident took place around 12 p.m. at Field 6, where large crowds had gathered to escape the heat and watch the Navy’s Blue Angels practice for a Fourth of July weekend air show. Lifeguard Kate Maio treated the victim, who approached her station bleeding from his foot, saying ‘I got bit, I got bit!
I don’t want to look.’ The injury was described as a single, deep gash across the man’s toes that exposed the underlying bone. Maio’s partner initially wrapped the foot in a shirt to act as a tourniquet, but the wound soon began to bleed heavily. The victim reported that the attack felt like a jaw-biting motion and that it went clean through.
Emergency medical services transported the injured man to a local hospital, where lifeguards expected him to make a complete recovery. According to lifeguards, the victim had been swimming near the edge of the designated safe area marked by green flags, positioning him close to where shoreline fishermen typically operate. Although the victim did not see what attacked him, another swimmer reported seeing a fin move away from the area immediately after the incident.
Lifeguards suspect that the wound characteristics are consistent with a baby sand tiger shark. The incident follows multiple shark sightings in the region the previous day, which disrupted beach activities. On Thursday, authorities closed the water at Rockaway Beach for several hours after a group of bull sharks and a nine-foot shark were spotted near Point Lookout, according to New York City’s Emergency Management Department.
