Shark attacks in Florida: Three people injured in two separate shark attacks in Walton County on Friday

CNN
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According to authorities, three people were injured in two shark attacks within just 90 minutes on Friday on neighboring beaches in Walton County, Florida.

The attacks occurred about four miles apart and left two people in critical condition and a third in stable condition, South Walton Fire District Fire Chief Ryan Crawford said in a joint news conference Friday. Two people were still in stable condition in hospital Saturday.

Shortly after 1:15 p.m. Friday, authorities responded to a report that a woman had been injured by a shark in the water near Watersound Way and Coopersmith Lane, according to the Walton County Sheriff’s Office.

A 45-year-old woman was “reportedly swimming with her husband just past the first sandbar” near WaterSound Beach, Crawford said at the press conference.

The woman suffered severe injuries to her midsection and pelvis and her left forearm had to be amputated, Crawford said. She was flown by helicopter to a local trauma center for treatment.

The second attack occurred around 2:55 p.m. in the Sandy Shores Court area of ​​Seacrest Beach, four miles east of the first incident. Two girls, approximately 15 to 17 years old, were with a group of friends in waist-deep water just inside the first sandbar when the incident occurred, according to the fire district.

One of the teenagers had serious injuries to his thigh and hand, the other had minor injuries to his foot, according to the fire department.

On Saturday, David Vaughn, beach safety director for the South Walton Fire District, told CNN that the person, who suffered minor injuries, had been released from the hospital.

The other two victims of the attack remain in stable condition in hospital, he said.

Vaughn added that officials do not know for sure if the same shark was behind each attack or what species it was.

“Given the nature and severity of the injuries, it would be more plausible that it was the same large shark,” Vaughn noted.

Following the incidents, beach flags were changed to double red on Friday to indicate that the water was closed to swimming.

“Double red flags are now flying on area beaches. The Gulf is now closed to the public in Walton County in the area of ​​the incident,” the sheriff’s post said at the time. “We urge beachgoers to be aware that lifeguards and beach officials may attempt to keep people in the immediate area out of the water.”

The father of a 17-year-old girl who witnessed the attack on the teenagers from their hotel balcony said his daughter was distraught.

“She felt helpless because she couldn’t help,” Brian Erbesfield said of his daughter Hanna.

A video provided by the family shows a shark in the surf a few meters offshore as beachgoers gather at the water’s edge.

“Oh my God, oh my God… you have to get out of here,” a voice said.

Walton County Sheriff Michael Adkinson said during Friday’s press conference that authorities are talking to experts to determine if there is “anything anomalous.”

“We don’t believe that’s the case, but we certainly want to be cautious,” he said. “We know we share the water with sharks, and we understand that, as tragic as that is, there will always be sharks.”

The last two shark incidents in the area were reported in 2021 and 2005, according to the Walton County Sheriff’s Office.

In the most recent attack in June 2021, a 14-year-old boy survived after being bitten in the chest area while swimming near a fishing line 40 meters from shore in Grayton State Park. Another attack was fatal – in June 2005, a 14-year-old Louisiana girl was on a boogie board 250 meters from shore when the shark pulled her underwater and bit her legs.

Although the risk of being bitten by a shark is extremely low, Florida tops the list of shark bites in the world, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History’s annual shark attack report.

In 2023, 16 cases of unprovoked shark bites were reported in Florida, representing 44% of the total in the United States and 23% worldwide. Most shark bites occurred in Volusia County, with the others reported in Brevard, St. Lucie, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, Escambia, and Pinellas counties. No deaths were reported in the state as a result of the attacks last year.