A lone shark bit two swimmers, grazed a third and injured another who fended it off near South Padre Island, Texas, Thursday. Two of the victims were hospitalized, with a third airlifted to another location for further treatment.
The first victim, an unnamed man, was severely bitten by the shark at 11 a.m., South Padre Island Public Information Officer Nikki Soto told The Associated Press.
Rayner Cardenas, the father-in-law of the first victim, told Rio Grande Valley ABC affiliate KRGV-TV, “I turned around, and he wasn’t there anymore. I started swimming toward him, and he jumped out of the water saying shark, shark, shark, and that’s when adrenaline kicked in.”
Another victim, a woman, was bitten on her left leg. She was dragged out of the water by other beachgoers while visibly bleeding, according to Houston NBC affiliate KPRC-TV.
The other two victims were a man who needed stitches after kicking the shark following a bite and a woman.
“I just felt this pressure like someone punched me or like someone pushed the back of my leg and I just turned around and there’s a shark. There’s little bite marks on my calf, but I’m all right for now,” Victoria Ramos, 18, told Rio Grande Valley NBC affiliate KVEO-TV.
Ms. Ramos was treated by paramedics for cuts and remained at the beach. None of the other victims have been publicly identified by authorities.
Two of the bite victims were transported to a Brownsville hospital, and one of them was airlifted further from there, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department said in a release.
A third victim was also hospitalized, South Padre Island Fire Chief Jim Pigg told CBS News.
The authorities have not said what type of shark it was, but its length was 6 feet, TPWD Game Warden Capt. Chris Dowdy told AP. It swam to deeper water following the attacks.
Local officials stressed the incidents were not common.
“The county wants to extend its thoughts and prayers to the victims and families of these extremely rare and unusual attacks. … I want to thank our local good Samaritans and emergency response personnel for acting quickly and appropriately to aid those that were in need,” Cameron County Judge Eddie Trevino Jr. said in a statement.
In Texas, county chief executives are called judges.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.