It was like a scene from Jaws.
Four beachgoers celebrating Independence Day on a Texas island were attacked by a human-hungry shark, leaving at least one with a missing calf.
Horrifying footage from after the accident shows A massive predator roams the shoreline next to a bleeding woman lying helpless in the waves of the Gulf of Mexico on South Padre Island.
She can be heard screaming in pain as bystanders quickly wrap a makeshift tourniquet around her knee, just inches from where the shark had sunk its teeth into her flesh.
The woman was one of two people who authorities believe were attacked by the same shark. The man was severely bitten on the leg at about 11 a.m. the official said.
The man’s father-in-law said he saw the victim suddenly be dragged underwater.
“I started swimming towards him and he jumped out of the water going ‘shark, shark, shark,’ and that’s when the adrenaline started pumping and I started swimming after him,” Rainer Cardenas said. He told KRGV.
Two other swimmers also had shark “encounters” but were not seriously injured. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department officials said. One person suffered minor scratches and injuries, and one man received stitches after fighting the shark.
Investigators suspect the same shark is responsible for this “unusual and unprecedented” attack.
The man-eating whale has since retreated to deeper waters and although authorities are monitoring the coast with drones, they have no plans to hunt down the apex predator.
This is the first series of attacks in the area in five years.
“Shark encounters like this are not uncommon in Texas,” the agency said in a statement, “and shark bites usually occur when a stingray mistakes a shark for a feeding prey.”
Officials advise beachgoers that “if you see large schools of feeding sharks close to shore, it is usually a sign that a predator is nearby, and if you see a shark in the water, calmly get out of the water and wait for the predator to pass.”
