NEED TO KNOW
- A young Florida fisherman, was attacked by an 8-foot bull shark while in the Gulf on Aug. 2
- Minutes after the shark bit his knee and he was hauled onto the boat to safety, Chance Armand smiled for a photo, showing off his bloodied leg
- He described his injury as a “giant, gnarly flesh wound”
A man had a bloody showdown with a shark — but he’s still smiling.
On Saturday, Aug. 2, Chance Armand, a Florida-based spearfisherman, had just made his first catch of the day in the Gulf, approximately 20 miles off the coast of Pensacola Pass, when he noticed a large shadow beneath him, per local outlet WALA. An 8-foot bull shark was surging toward him in the water.
Armand began to swim for his life, but he was no match for the shark’s speed and determination.
“By the time I acknowledged he wasn’t gonna turn around, it was too late,” he told WALA. “I didn’t really have time to react otherwise, besides put my knee between myself and the shark, and thankfully, once he got a bite of my knee and realized that’s not what he was after, he turned around and swam back down.”
When Armand surfaced, his fishing companions hauled him onto the boat and set to work trying to stem the bleeding in his leg.
“We were able to fashion a make-shift tourniquet out of a T-shirt, a speargun band and a fillet knife,” he recalled.
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Despite his injury — and the life-threatening ordeal he had just survived — Armand posed for a smiling photo on the boat, minutes after the shark attack. He can be seen sitting with his bloodied leg elevated while grinning and playfully sticking out his tongue.
Once back in cellphone range, the group called 911, and EMS met their boat at the dock. Armand was taken to Baptist Hospital in Pensacola.
He posed for more photos from his hospital bed, once again smiling wide for the camera. He also shared some gory snapshots of the shark bite on social media, showing just how deep the shark’s massive teeth penetrated.
Armand was discharged from the hospital less than 24 hours later, feeling incredibly grateful that his injury was not as bad as he feared.
“By the grace of God, there was no tendon damage, no bone damage, no artery damage — it’s just one giant, gnarly flesh wound,” he told WALA.
Seemingly unfazed by the scary incident, Armand said he plans to get back into the water soon once his wound heals — but he’ll make sure to be better prepared by stowing a first aid kit and tourniquet on the boat.
Armand told ABC affiliate WEAR News that he is used to seeing sharks while fishing and actually enjoys the encounters.
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“I love seeing sharks, I’ve always been the kid since I was young watching Shark Week, geeking out about it, and telling everybody, ‘I want to be a marine biologist,’ ” he said, noting that he had seen the particular shark that bit him twice that day before a third appearance resulted in the attack.
He told WEAR News that the “worst part” about the attack was losing his speargun in the water. “He bit me, and I was just more frustrated than anything,” he said.
