NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. (WKRC) – An 18-year-old surf instructor on Friday was bitten by a shark while surfing at New Smyrna Beach, known as the “Shark Bite Capital of the World.”
The teenager, identified by WESH as Sam Hollis, sustained a bite to his foot and was taken to a local hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening, Volusia County Beach Safety Ocean Rescue director Tamra Malphurs told Fox35. Hollis’ boss described the injury as “nasty.”
An eyewitness reported that emergency personnel responded swiftly to the scene. “We noticed that, like, two emergency vehicles and a police car came pretty quickly,” she said to WESH. “And some of the instructors came and got the lifeguard on the stand here and down.”
This marks the fourth shark encounter in Volusia County this year, according to the county website. According to the International Shark Attack File, the Florida Museum of Natural History’s database, there have been more than 250 “unprovoked” shark attacks recorded in Volusia County since 1882.
