A local teen was bitten by a shark in New Smyrna, Florida.
Chase Elmore was surfing at the jetty September 2 when he ended up fighting a shark.
The 17-year-old was reaching down to grab his surfboard when a shark grabbed his hand around noon.
“He punched the shark three times when it grabbed him by the hand,” Chase’s brother Blake told Fox35. “It grabbed him and started bringing his hand over there and he started punching it and stuff. Then it let go and he bellied a wave in and put his hand in a towel.”
Rescue personal were called and administered first-aid, before Elmore was taken to the hospital for treatment.
“He had like 25 stitches all across his hand,” Blake said.
He estimated the shark was around six to seven feet long.
“It was pretty big!” Blake said. “You could tell by the teeth mark it was like a black tip shark or a spinner shark, one of them.”
Apparently there had been bait fish in the area before the shark bit.
There have been four shark attack bites in the area this year.
The first occurred on March 27, when Robert Nesbit was bitten on the foot around 10 a.m. The 58-year-old had a minor wound and was able to drive himself to the hospital.
Melanie Lawson was bitten by a five foot hammerhead shark on April 4 near Esther Street Beachfront Park. The 51-year-old was hit hard on the side and knocked into the water. The shark left several teeth marks and a bruise on her thigh.
Bryan Brock was surfing north of the jetty when he was bitten on the foot and left hand June 10. The 19-year-old needed 48 stitches to sew up his foot and 4 for his hand.
Even though Brock has had two separate run-ins with sharks, he still loves the water. “Even though I got bit 2 times in less than a year, it did not alter my love for sharks and how I will back in the water as soon as possible,” Brock told Tracking Sharks. “I might be crazy, but I’d go crazy if I couldn’t surf.”
There have been a total of 73* shark attack bites in 2017, 5 of which were fatal*; 35 were reported in the US, with 23 occurring in Florida** and one in Hawaii. Ten occurred in Australia, one of which was fatal and one with no injury. Five unconfirmed worldwide and not included in the total count.
All locations have been marked on the 2017 Shark Attack Bites Tracking Map.
*Two may be scavenge. **One report may have been outside of Florida waters.
