Shark Attacks Woman in Waist-Deep Florida Water

A good Samaritan is getting the credit for helping rescue Florida’s latest shark attack victim from the water off Cocoa Beach Sunday.

The victim, a 28-year-old woman from Colorado, was standing in water that was about 3 feet deep when a shark swam up and bit her on the ankle, several media outlets are reporting.

Holly Peterson saw the fin come up and slap the woman in the face. She then heard the woman say, “It got me.”

That’s all it took to get Peterson’s attention.

“I grabbed her hand and dragged her back to shore,” she told WFTV while choking back tears.

The woman was taken to Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne for treatment. The bite has been described as “to the bone.” Family members have said the woman received multiple stitches and may require surgery.

The type of shark involved in Sunday’s attack remains unknown, Chief Jeff Scabarozi of Brevard County Ocean Rescue told First Coast News. “But there’s a plethora of sharks in the area. Bull sharks, black tip, spinners,” he said.

While a number of shark attacks have occurred in Florida waters in 2015, none have been fatal. In September, two separate attacks on the same day involving young children were reported along the Atlantic coast. Other attacks have been reported across the state, including the Gulf Coast.

Florida traditionally leads the world in the number of confirmed, unprovoked shark attacks annually. The state logs about 20 “bites” a year and one fatality a decade.

See Also:

• 2 Florida Shark Attacks Reported Sunday
• Shark Attacks: What Are The Odds?
• Shark Bites Man in 2 Feet of Water
• Florida Leads Nation in Shark Attacks

“Shark attacks in general are really a nonentity when we think of causes of mortality involved with humans,” George Burgess, director of the Florida Program for Shark Research at the Florida Museum of Natural History on the University of Florida campus, told Patch. “It’s a lot more dangerous driving to the beach.”

Burgess explains that most Florida shark attacks are “hit-and-runs” in that the sharks just take a quick grab and move on for more tasty prey. Even so, fatalities are not unheard of. After all, larger species, such as bull and tiger sharks call Florida home year-round and great whites are known to visit the area, as well. Many of the larger sharks are found in the Gulf of Mexico, but that’s not always the case.

To learn more about sharks in Florida, visit the museum online.