Sharks attack a 15-year-old boy

Sharks attack a 15-year-old boy

A 15-year-old was attacked by sharks while surfing off the coast of Fire Island in New York, with six attacks in three weeks last summer as shark sightings spiked on July 4th weekend.

The bitten surfer swam to shore, where another beach person helped him. The 15-year-old said the shark had inserted its teeth into the heel and toe of his left foot.

A shark attacked the teen after he headed into the surf on his surfboard off the coast of Fire Island, New York, on Monday afternoon.

In shock, the surfer swam to shore, where he was assisted by a beachgoer and given first medical aid.

The surfer said the shark had inserted teeth into his left heel and toe, but they were still intact.

Then officers of the Suffolk County Police Naval Office were called and rushed to the victim's aid after he was bitten off the coast of Kismet Beach on the island at around 5.20 pm.

A shark attacked the teen after he headed into the surf on his surfboard off the coast of Fire Island, New York, on Monday afternoon.

Fire Island will remain on high alert for the rest of the summer after six shark attacks in three weeks in the area last summer.

The first of the attacks occurred last year on June 30, when a 57-year-old swimmer sustained a laceration to his foot at Jones Beach that was "a possible shark bite," according to medics.

A few days later, on the weekend of July 4, lifeguard Zachary Gallo was playing the victim in a practice exercise in the waters of nearby Smith Point Beach when he was bitten in the chest by a shark.

Gallo mauled the five-foot shark, injuring his hand. It was the first reported shark attack on that beach since 1959.

"I felt a sharp, sharp pain, and as soon as I felt the rubbery texture, I knew it was some kind of shark," Gallo told CBS last year.

On July 7 of last year, another lifeguard was playing victim 200 yards off a Fire Island beach when he was bitten on the foot by a shark.

Sharks often react to the spray and confuse spots for prey, which may explain why two rescuers were targeted as victims.

Less than a week later, on July 13, there were two more attacks, one again on Smith Point Beach and the other on Fire Island Beach.

The first was a 41-year-old man who was knocked off his paddle board by a sand tiger shark and bit him before repeatedly punching the predator and riding a wave to shore.

The second, on Fire Island, had an Arizona man wading through deep water before being bitten on the buttocks and hand around 6 pm.

Bradley Peterson, an associate professor in Stony Brook University's School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, called the increased connectivity a "success story."

Shark sightings will hit New York-area beaches again this year, with a video of them jumping out of the water in Queens last year.