COCOA BEACH, Florida (KRON/CNN) — A 10-year-old boy suffered serious injuries in a shark attack in shallow water off a popular beach in Brevard County, Florida on Sunday.
The boy was wading in waist-high water with his mother off Cocoa Beach when he was bitten.
Lifeguards came to the rescue when they saw him struggling in the water. They carried him to shore and provided emergency care after realizing what had happened, said Ocean Rescue Assistant Chief Eisen Witcher.
The boy suffered a severe bite on his calf and was flown to a trauma hospital in Orlando due to the severity of the injury, Witcher said.
“It was definitely one of the worst ones that we’ve seen in our area that we’ve responded to, mainly because of the size of the bite,” Witcher said.
Experts believe the boy may have been attacked by a juvenile bull shark.
The beach was shut down for about an hour following the attack.
Ocean rescue officials say emergency crews have responded to about 10 shark bites in the area this year.