Department of Conservation officials reveal what happened to the shark that attacked several people on a Texas beach

By James Cirrone for Dailymail.Com

06:36 07 July 2024, updated 06:36 07 July 2024

Department of Conservation officials have announced to a frightened public the fate of the shark that mutilated two people on a Texas beach on July 4.

The attack occurred on Thursday morning on South Padre Island in the US state of Texas. The woman, who was bitten in the leg, had to be pulled ashore by a rescue team.

After the bloody incident, South Padre Island and Cameron County park officials located the shark, harnessed it and returned it to deeper waters so it would not pose an ongoing threat to beachgoers, KFDX-TV reported.

New helicopter footage from the Texas Department of Public Safety shows officers flying over the shark as it swims through shallow waters immediately after the attack.

According to Captain Dowdy of Texas Parks and Wildlife, the animal, identified as a bull shark, suffered no damage or physical injuries during the recovery operation.

Dowdy said the “unusual” attack was likely caused by weather changes resulting from the approaching Hurricane Beryl, which the National Hurricane Center expects to hit the Texas coast sometime Monday as a Category 1 hurricane.

Bull sharks can reach lengths of up to 11 feet (3.35 meters) and have one of the most powerful bites in the animal kingdom. Pound for pound, their bite is stronger than that of the infamous great white shark.

A total of four people encountered the shark in the water, according to initial reports. Two people were bitten and two others suffered minor injuries.

A woman had a serious wound on her leg.

In the footage of the attack, the woman can be seen lying in the sand while a dorsal fin can be seen swimming back and forth near the shore.

Blood from her wound can be seen turning the water dark red as first responders wrap a tourniquet around her leg.

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This woman was later identified as Tabatha Sullivent, who was in the water with her daughter and husband when the shark attacked them.

She said they were passing a sandbar when the shark followed her into the shallow water and bit her on the calf, prompting her husband, Cary, to fight it off.

“I turned around and saw something dark in the water. I thought it was a big fish and I tried to kick it away. But then it grabbed me,” Sullivent told FOX Dallas-Fort Worth from a hospital bed.

The shark bit off her calf.

“My leg is pretty much gone,” she said. “Today it was flushed out. It went down to the bone. It didn’t go through the bone.”

Her husband was also bitten during the attack, but his injuries were comparatively minor.

“If my husband and everyone else on the beach hadn’t stepped in immediately. If there hadn’t been people pulling me out – not just to pull me out, but jumping between me and the shark – I don’t think it would have stopped,” she said.

The couple was at the beach celebrating their daughter Skylar’s 15th birthday.

Skylar set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for her mother’s recovery, and so far more than $4,600 has been donated.

Her daughter Skylar Sullivent shared an update on her condition on Facebook later that evening.

“My mom is trying to rest as much as possible and plan her path forward. Recovery will be a long process, but I know she will get through it,” Skylar wrote on Facebook.

Immediately after the attack, Texas Parks and Wildlife released a statement informing beachgoers that authorities would patrol the beach by land, boat and air.

The city also considered closing the beach completely to the public.

According to local radio station KNFM, a 4.2-meter-long great white shark was spotted near South Padre Island in March.

However, since authorities believe the perpetrator in the recent attacks was a bull shark, it is likely that this great white shark was not involved.

This comes after two teenagers and a woman were attacked by a shark in Walton Beach, Florida, early last month.

According to the Walton County Sheriff’s Office, 45-year-old Elisabeth Foley was bitten by the marine creature around 1:15 p.m. in the water near Watersound Way and Coopersmith Lane.

According to Ryan Crawford, fire chief of the South Walton Fire District, she suffered “significant injuries to her midsection and pelvis and required amputation of her left forearm.”

At around 3 p.m., officials responded to reports that another shark attack had occurred on two 15- and 17-year-old girls six kilometers away from the first attack.

The teenagers were later identified as Lulu Gribbin, who lost a hand and leg, and McCray Faust, who suffered injuries to her foot.

All three victims, who were visiting the area from other states, were attacked while swimming near the sandbar.