A Missouri teenager is recovering after being bitten by a shark in Florida on Wednesday, the fourth shark bite reported in the area in just six days.
A 14-year-old boy was knee-deep in water in Daytona Beach Shores when a shark bit his leg. WSVN-TV reported.
The boy was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. WFTV reported.
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Florida, and specifically Volusia County, is known as the shark capital of the world. (Jesus Olarte/AFP via Getty Images, File)
The first of the recent shark bite incidents occurred on July 4th when a 21-year-old man from Ohio was playing football in knee-deep water at New Smyrna Beach when a shark bit him on his right leg. He suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to the hospital for treatment.
The next day, a 26-year-old man from Sarasota was on a float in about five feet of water at New Smyrna Beach when a shark bit him on his left leg, authorities said.
On Monday morning, 14-year-old Dempsey Manhart was bitten in the right calf by a shark during a lifeguard training camp in Ponce Inlet, Volusia County. Witnesses said the shark was a 4- to 5-foot blacktip, a type commonly seen on area beaches.
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“I dove in and hit a shark,” Manhart said. Fox 35 Orlando“I hit it with my hand, stood up and it spun around and got under my leg and I think it bit me as it wrapped around my leg.”
Dempsey Manhart sits in a chair after being bitten on the heel by a shark, Monday, July 8, 2024, in Ponce Inlet, Florida. (Source: Fox News)
The boy required 17 stitches for his injuries.
Volusia County is the shark capital of the world, according to a report from the Florida Museum of Natural History’s International Shark Attack File.
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Since 1882, there have been more than 350 shark attacks in Volusia County, including 16 incidents in 2023.
Fox News’ Greg Norman contributed to this report.
